


The Maitlands: A Second Chance At Life

by bookworm6570



Category: Beetlejuice - All Media Types, Beetlejuice - Perfect/Brown & King
Genre: Gen, I just wrote this for fun, i love the maitlands too much, thanks for reading, the maitlands are alive, the maitlands deserve the world
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-15
Updated: 2020-07-16
Packaged: 2021-03-04 19:55:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 33
Words: 36,721
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25281970
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bookworm6570/pseuds/bookworm6570
Summary: Somehow, by some magic, the Maitlands are unexpectedly brought back to life.Watch as they adjust to being alive again and the struggles they encounter along the way.~ originally published on my wattpad under the same name ~
Relationships: Adam Maitland/Barbara Maitland, Beetlejuice & Adam Maitland, Beetlejuice & Adam Maitland & Barbara Maitland, Beetlejuice & Barbara Maitland, Beetlejuice & Charles Deetz, Beetlejuice & Lydia Deetz, Charles Deetz/Delia Deetz, Delia Deetz & Adam Maitland, Delia Deetz & Barbara Maitland, Lydia Deetz & Adam Maitland, Lydia Deetz & Adam Maitland & Barbara Maitland, Lydia Deetz & Barbara Maitland
Comments: 2
Kudos: 17





	1. Falling through the floor... again

Lydia woke up shivering and covered in sweat. She kicked her covers off her body, but almost immediately pulled them back over herself. Rolling over she looked at her alarm clock and groaned _,_ its too early for a Saturday, she thought _._ Maybe Adam and Barbara are awake, she thought and decided to get up and check the attic for her ghost carers. Wrapping her blanket tightly around herself, she got out of bed and climbed up to the attic. 

However, when she entered the attic, she found it empty, the Maitlands were nowhere to be seen. Lydia looked around the room and a particular box in the corner caught her eye. It was labelled _Barb's stuff_ and looked as though it hadn't been touched in years. Lydia walked over to the box and opened it up, shivering violently and wrapping the blanket tightly around her. The thing sitting on the top, was a photo album. Carefully, the teenager lifted it out the album and opened it up. 

The first photo was of a young couple sitting in a park, arms around each other and laughing. It was captioned **"First day of senior year!"**. Lydia grinned at the photo and turned to the next page. On that page there was a photo of what looked like Barbara when she was around 15 years old. She had brown hair, and a fringe, and was wearing a white button up school shirt and blue school pants. It was captioned **"School Play: Barb enjoying her new look"**. Lydia grinned and was about to turn to the next page when she heard voiced from up above her. Another violent shiver wracked her body as she made her way to the window. She climbed out onto the dark roof and saw two figures sitting there, arms around each other and looking over the horizon. Lydia shivered, again, as the cold air hit her, and walked over to the couple. 

'I can't believe it' Barbara was saying 'Its been a whole year since we died' She laid her head on Adam's shoulder and he stroked her hair. Lydia smiled sadly at the ghosts and wrapped the blanket tighter around herself 

'I know its been hard Barb' said Adam 'But look at the good that came out of it. We met Lydia, Delia, Charles and even Beetlejuice'

'Yeah, but we never got to start a family' said Barbara quietly 'I always wanted a baby'

'I know you did Barb, but they're our family now' said Adam 'Its not the family we expected, but its everything that we could've wanted. Charles and Delia are amazing people, Beetlejuice is a challenge, and Lydia... well that girl is something special' he glanced down at his wife and kissed her head

'She is the daughter we never had' said Barbara and Adam nodded. Lydia stared at the ghosts and approached them 

'You really think that?' asked quietly. Barbara jumped and the couple turned around. Adam gestured for Lydia to come sit with them. Adam and Barbara nodded and Lydia smiled 'You guys are the best parents I could ever ask for' she smiled and shivered again

'Whats up Lyds?' asked Adam 'You're all flushed'

'I'm really cold' said Lydia. Barbara looked at Lydia and saw the sweat on her face

'I think you have a fever' stated Barbara. Lydia frowned and leaned her forehead against Barbara's shoulder, the ghosts cold skin strangely cooling on her hot skin. Barbara looked at Adam, who looked back at her. 'I think we need to tell your real parents' said Barbara 'They've left to go shopping'

'No, you're my real parents' said Lydia. She giggled and grinned at Barbara 

'Yeah, back to bed little miss' said Barbara, bopping Lydia lightly on the nose. Adam put an arm around Lydia and helped her back inside. Lydia laid down on the couch and huddled under blankets. Quickly, she texted Delia, that she was sick and went to sleep. 

**BANG**

Lydia awoke to a loud sound and sat up straight. Rubbing her eyes, she looked over and saw a hole in the floor. She kicked the blankets off her body and walked over to the hole. Lying in the bottom of it, were two bodies, one of which was moving.

'Adam? Barbara?!' Lydia hoped nothing was wrong with the two ghosts 'You ok?' she asked, kneeling down 

'Hey Lyds' said Adam. He was sitting up and looked up at her 'I guess the floor gave out'

'But you guys are ghosts' said Lydia 'How does that work?'

'I don't know' said Adam. He reached over and shook Barbara, who was lying on her stomach 'Barb, honey, wake up' Barbara groaned and rolled over so she was laying on her back 

'What the hell just happened?' she asked, looking up at Lydia 'Did we die again?'

'No, the floor just gave out' said Adam. He stood up and climbed out of the hole, Barbara following him. The couple sat next to Lydia and frowned 'Sorry if we woke you up' said Adam 

'No, its fine' said Lydia, she reached for her phone, saw a new message from Delia and quickly read it 'Dad and Delia will be home by 1.00. And Delia thanks you two for looking after me and recommends that I spend some time in her crystal room, to " _get better"_ , I doubt that'll work' mumbled Lydia

'Uhh, ok' said Adam 'Do you want to go to the crystal room?'

'No' said Lydia firmly. She looked at Barbara 'You ok Barb?' Barbara shook her head and clutched her stomach. 'I'm gonna phone my parents' said Lydia, she stood up and walked out to the kitchen and was about to phone Delia when she heard laughter coming from the ceiling. Looking up she saw a certain green-haired demon floating above her 'Beej, whats up?' 

'Did it work?' he asked excitedly, dropping to the floor 

'Did what work?' asked Lydia, she saw the glint in the demons eye 'What did you do?'

'Ok, so ' he clapped his hands together and looked at Lydia 'I found this cool thing in the depths of the Netherworld, that was meant to be able to bring the dead back to life, but only if they were ghosts, so I tried it' he looked at Lydia, who stared at him

'You mean... the Maitlands are alive?' 


	2. Testing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lydia and Beetlejuice tell the Maitlands they think they're alive and test their theory

Lydia walked back out into the living room, fiddling with her hands nervously, and found Adam and Barbara on the couch. Barbara was lying down with her head in Adam's lap, and he was stroking her hair. Lydia smiled at the Maitlands and coughed to get their attention 

'Oh hi Lyds' said Adam, looking over to the teenager and smiling at her 'whats up?'

'Beej has something he wants to tell you' said Lydia, pushing Beetlejuice forward. Beetlejuice frowned and Lydia nudged him in the ribs 

'Ow Lyds, ok I'll do it' he rubbed his ribs and turned to the Maitlands 'So... I... uhh... found this thing in the Netherworld, and it was meant to be able to bring people back to life, but only of they were ghosts, so... I tried it' Beetlejuice shrugged and grinned at the Maitlands

'I-wait... what?' asked Adam after a few seconds of silence 

'You can thank me later' said Beetlejuice and with that he vanished. Lydia sighed and felt her phone vibrate in her hand. She looked at it and saw that she had a message from Delia _"We'll be home in 10 minutes"_

'Dad and Delia will be home in 10 minutes' Lydia looked at the Maitlands, who were both looking shocked 'Look, I dunno if Beej was telling the truth, but theres one way we can try' she approached Barbara and offered her a hand up. Barbara took it and as soon as she was standing up, Lydia pulled her into a gentle hug.

'Hows this a test?' asked Barbara, wrapping her arms around Lydia. The teenager laid her head on Barbara's chest and heard a strong heart beat, something that she usually didn't hear. Lydia lifted her head up off Barbara's chest and smiled at the woman 

'You have a heart beat' she said quietly 

Barbara smiled and hugged Lydia again, laying her head on top of Lydia's. Adam smiled at the two of them. Lydia pulled away, and turned to Adam. Adam opened his arms wide and Lydia flew into them. Adam wrapped the teenager in a tight hug and gestured for Barbara to join them. The woman did, and the three of them stood in a group hug before Lydia pulled away, wiping her eyes a little

'Lyds, whats wrong?' asked Barbara, seeing the tears running down Lydia's cheeks

'I haven't been hugged like that, by 2 people, since my mum died' sniffed Lydia 'She and dad used to hug me all the time, but now dad just gives me small hugs. You guys give the best hugs and it just feels so nice to be hugged like that again' she shook her head 'Sorry, that probably sounded pretty stupid'

'No, no, Lydia' Barbara put a hand on Lydia's cheek and wiped her tears away gently 'I understand completely. When I was 17, my dad unexpectedly died in a car crash' Adam took her hand and rubbed it comfortingly  
'I had to quit all my theatre classes, and acting classes, to help my mum look after my siblings. My younger brother was only a baby, and my sisters were 7 and 13. As soon as I graduated high school, I moved out and Adam and I bought an apartment together. My mum was in no mental state to look after 3 children of her own, so we offered to look after my brother. He lived with us until he was 3, and then moved back with my mum' she smiled sadly at the teenager 'I know that you're younger than I was when I lost my dad, but I understand completely how you feel. Adams dad sort of became like my dad and we both sort of became parents to my little brother'

'Oh Barb, I'm so sorry' said Lydia 'Why didn't you tell me sooner?'

'You needed to get over your own mothers death, before worrying about my dads' said Barbara, smiling at the teenager. Lydia smiled, before frowning 

'I'm gonna call Delia, and tell her what happened' said Lydia, bringing her phone out. She pressed on Delia's contact, and a second later, her step-mother picked up 

_'Hi Lydia, whats up?'_ said Delia's cheerful voice _'Feeling better?'_

'Um, we have a slight problem' said Lydia, there was silence so she continued 'So Beej did something. He found this thing in the Netherworld that is meant to be able to bring ghosts back to life, so he tried it... on the Maitlands... and they're alive' there was silence on the line 

_'Lydia, be serious please'_ Charles deep voice came over the phone 

'Dad, I'm not joking, they're really alive, they have heartbeats' said Lydia 

_'Can you put one of them on the phone please?'_ asked Delia

'Hi Delia' said Barbara cheerfully, coming over to the phone 'Lydia's not lying, Adam and I are actually alive. We are breathing and- I gotta go' she covered her mouth and ran off to the nearest bathroom. Adam followed his wife and Lydia put the phone to her ear

'Believe me?' she asked 

_'We're pulling into the driveway right now'_ was all Delia said. The phone hung up and Lydia put it away. Man, today was a weird day, she thought while running a hand through her hair, I wake up with a fever and then the Maitlands come back to life. She shook her head wandered to the bathroom, knocking on the door. 

'Come in' said Adam. Lydia slowly opened the door and saw Barbara sitting on the floor, her knees curled up to her chest and her head on her knees, and Adam standing next to her, stroking her hair. 'Hi Lydia'

'You ok Barb?' asked Lydia. Barbara didn't lift her head, but nodded. Lydia glanced at Adam, who kept on running his fingers through his wife's hair 'Dad and Delia are home, if you want to come and talk to them' said Lydia 

'Sure' said Adam, she knelt down next to Barbara 'Want to come Barb?'

'Give me a minute to freshen up?' asked Barbara in a quiet voice, lifting her head up. She looked very pale, and a little green. Adam nodded and kissed her forehead, before standing up and leaving with Lydia, closing the door behind them.

'Is she ok?' asked Lydia, as they walked to the kitchen, where Delia and Charles were unloading groceries 

'I'm not sure' said Adam, running a hand through his hair 'She was sick like this in the days leading up to our death, she kept on saying she just had a stomach bug, but I'm not sure if I believe her anymore, because the bug would've died by now'. Delia and Charles looked up when the 2 of them entered the kitchen and Delia hurried over to Adam. She put a hand on his arm and gasped

'You are alive' said the red-head quietly 'You're not cold, like you usually are'

'Yup' said Adam 'All thanks to our demon friend' Delia shook her head and hugged Adam. Adam hugged her back and Lydia made her way over to her father. Charles put his hand on her forehead and frowned

'Do you feel better Lydia?' he asked, feeling that her forehead was still warm

'A bit' said Lydia 'Sleeping helped, but I still don't feel 100%'. Charles nodded and handed her some medicine. Lydia thanked her father and took the medicine. There were footsteps and Barbara entered the kitchen, looking a little better, and dragging Beetlejuice behind her

'Beej is going to explain to us all why he decided to bring us back to life' said Barbara, shoving the demon forward. Beetlejuice frowned at Barbara and opened his mouth


	3. Explaining

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Maitlands, Deetz and Beetlejuice head into town and try to work out how to tell people the Maitlands are alive

'I wasn't thinking' admitted Beetlejuice 'I honestly didn't think it'd work, but hey, you guys are still here, and alive, and you two will thank me later' he looked at the Maitlands and grinned 

'What do you mean?' asked Adam, noticing the glint in the demons eyes 'Beej, what do you know that we don't?'

'You'll find out soon enough' said Beetlejuice. Adam sighed and wrapped his wife up in a hug, laying his head on hers. Lydia was sitting on the kitchen bench, leaning against a cupboard and watching the scene before her, feeling better as the medicine started to kick in. Delia looked around and turned to Charles

'So, what do we do?' she asked and was greeted by a confused look from her husband 'Well, the Maitlands are alive, where do we go? Who do we call?' she looked around the room for answers

'The police?' suggested Barbara, lifting her head off Adam's chest 'Thats who I'd call anyway'

'Want to head down to the station?' asked Delia.

'Can I get changed into something different?' asked Barbara, tugging at the dress she was wearing 'this is covered in dust and feels really gross'

'I've got some jeans that'll probably fit you' said Delia 'We're about the same height'

'I've got one of Adams old hoodies that I found in the attic' said Lydia, she pulled the jumper she was wearing off and chucked it at Barbara 'There you go'

'Thanks Lyds' said Barbara, catching the jumper. Delia took Barbara upstairs and a 5 minutes later, they came back downstairs. Barbara was in a pair of blue jeans, her brown boots and the old hoodie.

'Wow Barb' said Lydia, hopping off the bench 'Its so weird seeing you in something other than that dress, you look good though' Barbara smiled and ruffled Lydia's hair 

'Right, lets go' Charles grabbed his keys. 'Lydia, you'll need to come as a witness, and Beej, I dunno what to do with you, maybe shrink small and sit on Lydia's shoulder, if you can promise to be quiet' Beetlejuice nodded, and for one, did as he was told. Everyone piled into the car, Charles and Delia in the front, Adam, Barbara, Lydia and Beetlejuice in the back. 

'Do either of your families live here?' asked Charles

'Um, mine does' said Barbara 'But Adam's moved to England' then, they pulled out the drive way, and Barbara looked out the window like a little kid. It was her and Adam's first time leaving their house in a year, and it was fairly exciting for both of them.

'Ok, we just gotta make sure no one sees you guys' said Charles, as Delia pulled into the main street and tried to find a parking space close to the police station 'Because it'd be pretty hard to explain, and it seems that everyone in this town knows each other'

'Cool, we'll just keep our heads down' said Adam. Then, Lydia looked at Adam and Barbara's faces, closely 

'You guys have cuts and bruises on your faces' she announced, squinting at their faces. Adam and Barbara turned to look at each other and gasped. Gingerly, Barbara reached out and touched the bruise on Adam's face. Adam flinched away and Barbara frantically apologised. Then, Delia parked the car and they got out, walking straight into the police station. 

'Hello, how can I help you today?' asked a female at the front desk. She had light brown hair, and had a welcoming feel to her

'Um, I don't exactly know how to explain this' said Charles, stepping forward 'Its pretty weird'

'Well, I've heard some really weird stuff in my career, so try me' said the woman, smiling gently

'Um, well the ghosts that haunted our house have come back to life' said Charles and the woman stared at him 

'Please come with me, all of you' said the woman, leading them off into a room

The police officer, who's name was Jess, leant back in her chair and ran her fingers through her hair. Charles, Delia and Lydia had done their best to explain their situation, with occasional inputs from the Maitlands. 

'So, you two are Adam and Barbara Maitland?' asked Jess, looking at the couple 'The couple who fell through the floorboards last year?' 

'Is that how we're known now?' asked Adam 'But yeah, thats us'

'I remember you from school!' said Jess 'I was a couple of years behind you guys, but I remember seeing your final school musical, and wow, I've never forgotten it, you were amazing Barbara'

'Thank you' said Barbara, smiling kindly at the woman 'So, do you believe us?'

'I think I do' said Jess, relieving the 5 people infront of her 'Its a pretty crazy story to just make up. But, I suggest that you guys head to the hospital, because those cuts on your heads look nasty and you'll need to get checked out, because this has never happened before... at least I don't think it has' she stood up and started to walk towards the door 'Oh, have you told anyone else?'

'No, we didn't know what to do' said Charles. Jess nodded and left the room. They awkwardly stared at each other for a while. Adam was looking around the room, Barbara was fiddling with her engagement and wedding rings, Charles and Delia were looking at each other and Lydia was whispering to Beetlejuice, who was sitting on her shoulder. Jess re-entered the room, followed by another police officer

'Ok, so this is Mike, and he'll take you guys to the hospital' said Jess, putting a hand on the mans shoulder 'Adam, Barbara, you can go with him and you three can either follow in your car or go home' she smiled at the Maitlands 'Welcome back to life guys'


	4. Hospital

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adam and Barbara head to the hospital to get looked over and receive some live changing news

'So, you two are officially alive' said the doctor, Mark, walking into the room where Adam and Barbara were waiting 'and the cuts on your heads are evidence as to how you died, clearly head injuries. We will probably need to stitch yours up' he looked at Barbara 'But, I have more news, that may seem a little shocking'

'What is it?' asked Adam, putting an arm around Barbara 'Is anything wrong?'

'Well, you seem to be pregnant' said Mark. Barbara stared at the doctor for a moment, before burying her face in Adam's chest. 'You are a unique case, as we have never had anyone come back to life, so we don't know if the baby is alive, or what will happen, since it was conceived over a year ago, but if you like, I can give you an ultrasound, to see'

'Is it ok if you give us minute please?' asked Adam, rubbing Barbara's back comfortingly 

'Of course, I understand how this could be very overwhelming' Mark smiled 'I'll come back in 5 minutes' he left with a smile and as soon as the door closed, Barbara's head shot up. She had tears running down her face, and looked terrified 

'A-Adam?' she whispered, looking at her husband 

'You ok Barb?' asked Adam, gently wiping the tears away 

'What if it isn't alive?' asked Barbara 'Or what if it doesn't last? I don't think I could handle loosing another... baby' she whispered the last word. It broke Adams heart, to see his wife so scared of the one thing she'd always wanted and that had bought her so much joy

'Barb, whatever happens, I'll be right beside you' said Adam, taking her hands 'Whatever happens to us next, I'll always be with you, I promise' he kissed her and she melted. Adam put a hand on her stomach and grinned at her 'Well, this at least explains why you were feeling sick those last few days of our first life' said Adam. Barbara wrapped her arms around Adam's neck and lent into kiss him. Adam kissed her back, and then buried his face in her hair. 

**~**

Lydia walked through the front door of the house and flicked Beetlejuice off her shoulder. The shrunken demon grew back to full height and turned to Lydia 

'Think they're mad at me?' he asked nervously 

'Who? The Maitlands?' asked Lydia, walking over to the window and looking out of it 

'Yeah' said Beetlejuice quietly 

'Beej, I don't think its possible for the Maitlands to be mad at anyone' said Lydia 'At least not for very long' 

'Why are you looking out the window scarecrow?' asked Beetlejuice, walking over to Lydia and sitting down next to her 

'Because I wanna know when the Maitlands get home' said Lydia 'I miss them big time'

'Its been 20 minutes' said Beetlejuice, frowning. 'Now that they're alive, are you gonna spend anytime with me?' 

'What? Of course Beej, why wouldn't I?' Lydia took her eyes away from the road and turned to look at the demon 

'Oh, its just that you've been so focused on them today, and we haven't really got to hang out, and I like hanging out with you Lyds, it makes me happy' Beetlejuice looked at the floor. Lydia smiled and wrapped her arms around Beetlejuice

'Wanna play a game?' she asked

'Yes!' said Beetlejuice and the two of them started to play a very intense game of Battleships

**~**

'Hello, have we made a decision?' asked Mark, bringing a piece of equipment in with him 'because, even if you don't want to, I have to do a routine check' 

'Its fine' said Barbara, wiping her eyes and smiling at Mark

'I thought it would be' Mark smiled 'Ok, so I'll need you to lay back on the bed, lift your shirt up, and I'll put this gel on it' Barbara did as she was told and Adam held her hand the whole time. Mark put the gel on her stomach and started the machine up. A second later, a black and white image appeared on a screen 

'Is that...' Adam trailed off when he felt Barbara squeeze his hand. He rubbed her arm and looked at Mark

'Well, good news, there is a heartbeat, and you can see the baby just there' said Mark, pointing to a tiny dot on the screen. Tears welled up in Barbara's eyes, and Adam pushed his tears away, focusing on his wife. Mark let them hear the heartbeat for a while and then he turned the machine off, turning to the couple 

'Wow' was all Adam managed to say, Barbara stayed completely silent, unable to form a sentence. 

'It's a pretty amazing feeling isn't it' said Mark, handing a tissue to Barbara. 'Well, we'll have to monitor you closely, because this is a unique case, but I think this kid is a surviver, seeing as its survived this long' Mark smiled and started to pack up the equipment. Barbara pulled the jumper over her stomach and sat back up, Adam wrapping his arms around her when she did. 'This is a routine question I have to ask, even though I hate it, but have you had any miscarriages?'

'Yes' sighed Adam, knowing Barbara wouldn't want to answer 'Around 2 years before we died, so technically 3 years ago' said Adam. Mark nodded and wrote that down on a clipboard

'Ok, so' he handed Barbara a few sheets of paper 'Theres everything you need to know there, do's and don't's, what foods you should and shouldn't eat, and prescription for some medication. If you would please come with me, I'll take you too a doctor, who will stitch that cut on your head up, and then we can schedule our next appointment' 

**~**

Adam and Barbara got out of the taxi, and walked up to the front door of the Deetz house, hand in hand. Barbara reached for the doorbell, but before she could press it, the door burst open and Lydia hugged the Maitlands tightly 

'Woah, hi Lyds' said Adam, stumbling a little at the impact 

'I missed you guys' said Lydia, releasing them and leading them inside

'Its been an hour' said Adam, closing the door behind him 

'Yes, but its so strange to not just be able to go to the attic and have you there' said Lydia. She took each of them by the hand and led them to the kitchen, were Delia and Charles were sitting and drinking coffee 

'Oh hi guys, everything go alright?' asked Charles, looking up as the Maitlands entered the room

'Yeah' said Adam, nodding 'Barb got stitches, but apart from that, we're fine, and definitely alive' he smiled and sat down next to Delia. 

'Want something to drink?' asked Delia, putting her cup down and going over to the kitchen 'Coffee, tea... wine?' she giggled a little at the last option

'A coffee would be lovely, thanks Delia' said Adam, then he laughed 'That sounds so weird to say' Delia laughed too and looked at Barbara

'Anything for you Barb?' she asked 'You still look a little pale, water?' Barbara nodded and Delia handed her a glass of ice-cold water. 

'Thanks Delia' said Barbara, she took the glass and turned to Lydia 'Hey, Lyds, could you maybe please give us a minute alone? We need to discuss some things with your parents. Maybe go tell Beej that we won't kill him for bringing us back to life, cause he seems pretty scared of us'

'Um, sure' said Lydia, backing out of the kitchen 'But can you come and watch a movie with me later?'

'Of course' said Barbara, smiling at the teenager 'I promise' Lydia smiled and ran off upstairs, calling Beetlejuice's name. Delia handed Adam his coffee and sat back down next to Charles, the two of them looking curiously at the Maitlands

'So, whats up?' asked Delia

'There are some things we should tell you' 


	5. Family movie night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Maitland/Deetz family enjoys some quality time together

'Well shocking news for pretty much everyone, I'm pregnant' said Barbara, just deciding to get the information out there

'Oh my god... Congratulations!' squealed Delia, hugging Barbara tightly. Barbara smiled and hugged Delia back. Then, quite suddenly, Delia pulled back 'Wait, how does that work?'

'Do we really need to explain to you?' asked Barbara 'Well Delia, when 2 people love each other very much, they get these feelings-' 

'NO' Delia put a hand over Barbara's mouth. Barbara giggled and smiled at Delia 'No, I meant how does it work? You died a year ago, so technically the baby would be a year old, but its not, cause you were dead... does that make sense?'

'Yes' said Barbara 'We don't get it either, but apparently I'm just over a month along, but we'll need to have regular check ups because its a unique case. Also, I gotta go back next week, because they have to take the stitches out' 

'Oh, that does look nasty' said Delia, looking at Barbara's head. Barbara smiled and finished the glass of water 'Any other things we should know? When are you gonna tell Lydia? Do your families know?'

'Um, we'll tell Lydia sometime' said Barbara uncertainly, 'we don't want to overwhelm her. We haven't got to tell our families that we're even alive yet, and there isn't really anything else' 

'Well, do you want to go and get Lydia and tell her that we'll start our movie marathon now' said Charles, he got out of his seat and hugged Barbara 'Congratulations, by the way' 

'Thanks' said Barbara, Adam took her hand and the two of them walked upstairs to Lydia's room. The door was open, and they poked their heads in, however the room was empty. They looked at each other and raced each other to the attic. Up there, Lydia and Beetlejuice were sitting on the floor, looking through a photo album they'd found in a box. 'Hey trouble makers' said Barbara, poking her head though the door 

'Oh, hi' Lydia slammed the album shut and hopped up 'Everything alright?' 

'Yup' said Barbara 'We were gonna have a movie marathon, you two wanna join?' she asked. Lydia and Beetlejuice nodded and Lydia kicked the old box off to the side 'What were you looking at?'

'Oh, just an old photo album' said Lydia, walking towards the door 'nothing special, but come on, we've got a movie marathon to start' she ran down the stairs 2 at a time and then jumped the last 3 at the very bottom

'When are you gonna tell her?' asked Beetlejuice, watching Lydia stumble a bit as she landed 

'How do you know?' asked Barbara, stopping and looking at the demon 

'I told you guys you'd thank me later' said Beetlejuice. Realisation dawned on Barbara's face and she smiled at Beetlejuice. The demon smiled back and they kept on walking, catching up with Adam 'You telling Lyd any time soon?' asked Beetlejuice again. Barbara shook her head and Beetlejuice nodded. The 3 of them walked into the living room and found Charles and Delia sitting on one of the couches, with their arms around each other 

'Dibs the floor' said Beetlejuice. He grabbed a pile of blankets and pillows, and started to build a fort. Adam and Barbara claimed the other couch and snuggled up together. Lydia stole a blanket from Beetlejuice, much to the demons horror, and curled up on the big squishy armchair. Delia got Netflix up, and looked around the room 

'So, what do you want to watch?' she asked. Adam and Barbara shrugged and Delia sighed 'Guys, please?'

'We honestly don't mind Delia' said Adam 'Just spending time with you guys is enough for us, and we'll probably end up falling asleep anyway' he added, noticing Barbara yawning and closing her eyes. 

'Ok, Beej, Lydia, Charles?' Delia turned to the other members of the house 'any ideas?'

'Umm, how about the Hunger Games?' suggested Lydia. Delia nodded and put the first movie on. Pretty much straight away, the Maitlands fell asleep, but no one was surprised by that. Both of them looked so peaceful curled up on the couch together, with their arms around each other. What did surprise Charles and Delia was the fact that Lydia fell asleep pretty much straight away after the Maitlands did. Lydia was fast asleep, under the big fluffy grey blanket that she loved. It was always her mothers favourite blanket, and so whenever she was sick or feeling sad, Lydia would wrap herself in the blanket, letting the memories wash over her and make her feel happy. 

'So, Charles, Beej, its just us' said Delia once the Hunger Games had finished 'What do you want to do now?'

'Umm, can we put the second one on please?' asked Beetlejuice, looking down embarrassed 'Its just that I've never got to see the Hunger Games, and they are really interesting' 

'Of course Beej' said Delia, smiling and finding the next movie 

'You know Beej, I think Adam has the Hunger Games books somewhere' said Charles, looking across to the bookshelf 'Maybe you could read them?' he suggested. Beetlejuice's head shot up and he smiled 

'Yes, that'd be amazing' then he frowned 'But I can't read'

'I'm sure Adam would be happy to teach you, or Barbara, or even me or Delia' he smiled and then laughed 'Just not Lydia, she'd get annoyed' Beetlejuice laughed and settled back into the pillow fort 'Hey BJ, wanna come up here?' asked Charles 'You seem a little lonely down there' 

'Really Chuck?' asked Beetlejuice. Charles and Delia nodded and Beetlejuice hoped onto the other end of the couch, summoning a blanket for the 3 of them. Charles and Delia smiled at the demon and settled back to watch the movie 

**~**

Barbara woke up to the sound of laughter, the laughter of her family. She slowly opened her eyes and rubbed them, trying to wake up more. She lifted her head off Adam's lap and looked around the room. Beetlejuice, Lydia, Charles and Delia were all laughing at the thing they were watching on TV. Adam was chuckling slightly and playing with Barbara's hair. 

'What are you watching?' asked Barbara in a soft voice, turning so she was looking up at Adam 

'Oh, morning honey' said Adam, leaning down to kiss her 'Um, its this show by the BBC and its called Ghosts. We've only just started it, but its really funny' 

'How long was I asleep for?' asked Barbara, seeing the light shine in the front windows

'Morning Barbara' said Delia 'You and Adam fell asleep pretty much straight away, we don't blame you though, because you technically haven't properly slept in over a year, then Lydia fell asleep not long after you-'

'I did not' said Lydia indignantly 

'You did' said Beetlejuice. Lydia frowned and glared at Beetlejuice 

'Then, around 10.30, Charles fell asleep, and sometime during the night, Beej and I must've fallen asleep, but we woke up around 7 and have just been watching dumb television shows since then' said Delia 

'What time is it?' asked Barbara, trying to work out how long she'd been asleep for 

'Um, 11.00' said Delia. Barbara's mouth dropped open. She'd slept for that long and still felt tired, _well, thats what coming back from the dead does to you_ , she thought. Barbara sat up a little and moved closer to Adam. Then, the family of 6 went back to watching the TV show, and everyone found it hilarious. 


	6. Telling the world

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An article in the newspaper tells readers about how the Maitlands did the impossible and came back to life

Lydia woke up to an amazing smell. She sat up and jumped a little when she saw Beetlejuice sitting on the end of her bed. Beetlejuice laughed and Lydia frowned at the demon

'Beej, please stop doing that' said Lydia, getting out of bed and grabbing a jumper to put on. 'Is someone cooking downstairs? Its smells really good' Beetlejuice nodded and Lydia left her bedroom. 'Race to the bottom?' asked Lydia when she and Beetlejuice reached the top of the stairs. Beetlejuice nodded and the two of them started to run down stairs. Lydia jumped the last 3 stairs and landed at the same time as Beetlejuice

'I WIN!' yelled both Lydia and Beetlejuice at the same time. They looked at each other and started running to the kitchen, pushing each other out of the way. Beetlejuice sat down on a seat and Lydia frowned 

'You win the race to the kitchen, I won the stair race' she said, sitting on the seat next to Beetlejuice 

'Whatever you wanna believe' said Beetlejuice. He picked up the newspaper and stared to read it, _since when could he read_ , thought Lydia. She turned and looked over to the stove, where Adam and Delia were talking and making pancakes. 

'Looks good guys' said Lydia. Walking over to the kitchen and sitting on the bench. There was a stack of pancakes that were already cooked, Lydia grabbed one of them and took a bite 'Delia, Adam, I dunno how you cook so well' said Lydia through her mouthful 'these are amazing'

'Thank you Lydia' said Adam, smiling 'Did you sleep well?'

'Fine until I woke up and saw Beej sitting at the end of my bed' she pointed to the demon, who grinned 'scared the crap outta me'

'BJ, we talked about this' said Delia, going over to Beetlejuice and placing a plate of pancakes infront of him. Beetlejuice thanked Delia and started stuffing his face 'Oh, Lydia, your dad will be home around 4 to help you with your science work' said Delia 

'Thanks' said Lydia, she looked around the room, noticing a certain member of the family wasn't there 'Where's Barb?'

'Oh, she woke up really early this morning, so I let her sleep in. But I should probably go get her' said Adam. 'Wanna take over cooking?' he asked Lydia 

'No, I'll stick with eating' said Lydia, grabbing another pancake

'I'll do it!' said Beetlejuice, standing up and walking over to the stove.

'Ok, but Delia, please supervise him' said Adam 'I don't think that either of us want the house burnt down'. They laughed and he walked off upstairs. It'd been nearly 2 weeks since he and Barbara had been bought back to life, but they were still adjusting to their new life. Barbara had been sick pretty much every morning, but Adam was supporting her through everything and was treating her like a queen. Adam reached their bedroom and knocked on the door 'Barb?'

'Come in' called Barbara. She was sitting on the bed and tying her hair back in a pony tale. 'Oh, hey honey' she smiled at him 

'Hi sweetie, are you feeling better?' he sat down next to her and kissed her cheek

'A bit' said Barbara 'I heard Lydia and Beej racing downstairs again' she laughed 'you know, they're probably going to hurt themselves one day and we know that the floorboards here aren't the strongest'

'Did they wake you up?' asked Adam 

'No, I was already awake' said Barbara 'I was in the bathroom reading'

'Sweetheart, did you just spend the morning on the bathroom floor reading because you felt that bad?' asked Adam 'Why didn't you come and get me?' 

'I didn't want to worry you' said Barbara, looking at the ground 'Sorry'

'Its all right' said Adam 'Do you want to come downstairs and eat something? If it won't make you too sick' he stood up and offered her his hand. She took it and stood up. She went to leave with Adam but quickly went and grabbed a scrunchie, and reached up to put it in her hair 'Woah Barb, have you seen your stomach?' asked Adam. Barbara looked down and smiled slightly 

'Yeah' she walked over to him and he put a hand on her stomach 'We're going to have to tell Lydia soon, it'll be harder to hide soon' 

'How about tomorrow?' asked Adam, as they set off downstairs, hand in hand 

'Sure, but remember tomorrow my family's coming over' said Barbara. Adam nodded and the two of them entered the kitchen. Lydia smiled and waved at them from the kitchen bench where she was watching Beetlejuice make pancakes. Adam and Barbara waved back and sat at the table with Delia, who was looking through the newspaper

'Uhh, Delia, shouldn't you be supervising Beej?' asked Adam, glancing over at the demon 

'Oh, no, he's fine' said Delia, she turned the newspaper around and showed them an article 'You guys are in here' 

'What?' asked Adam. He and Barbara put their heads together to read the news article  
 _ **  
"Adam and Barbara Maitland have done the impossible and returned from the dead. The best experts are at a loss as to how this was possible, and are still investigating this unique case. The couple died in their house last year, after falling through the floorboards.  
'They were ghosts that haunted our attic' said Lydia Deetz, 16, who moved into their old house with her family 'Although, they weren't very scary' laughs the teenager 'More sweet, and they've sort of become second parents to me'  
'We have no idea as to how we came back to life' said Adam Maitland, 33, 'But we are eternally grateful for this second chance at life'  
The couple were also told that they were expecting a child, which shocked them both to say the least   
'It was a very big surprise' laughed Barbara Maitland, 33, 'We found out the same day we came back to life, and it still hasn't sunk in yet'  
The Maitlands are living in their old house with the Deetz family, who knew them when they were ghosts.   
'Yes, Adam and Barb have become like family to us' said Delia Deetz, 40, one of the other inhabitants of the house 'We wouldn't dream of just kicking them out. They helped us through a tricky stage in our lives and we are going to do everything we can to make them feel comfortable and at home'  
The family of 5 is currently adjusting to their new lives, and are just as curious as the rest of us to find out how they managed to do the impossible and come back from the dead."**_ _  
_

'Wow, so now the whole town knows' said Adam, he looked at Barbara 'How many of our old friends do you think are gonna try to find us?' he asked. Barbara laughed and shook her head

'I hope not too many' she said 'Because they'll probably just keep showing up here and bugging us' then she frowned 'we can't let Lydia see this' she whispered and stood up, going over to help Beetlejuice. Delia turned to look at Adam, who folded the newspaper up

'So, do you think they'll come up with a reason?' she asked 'As to how you guys came back?'

'Unless they know another demon from the Netherworld, no' said Adam. Then Barbara and Lydia screamed and Beetlejuice laughed 'What happened?' asked Adam, he and Delia turning to look at the 3 of them

'Beej flicked mixture at us' said Lydia, turning to show them her top, which was covered in pancake mixture. She hopped off the bench and went to look through the cupboards for a paper towel. Barbara groaned and felt her hair 

'Ugh, Beej, its all through my hair' she complained, feeling the mixture in her hair. Delia noticed Lydia looking at Barbara and coughed loudly 

'Barb' she said pointedly, looking at Barbara's stomach. Barbara realised and quickly dropped her hands to her side. Lydia looked confused for a second before shrugging and going back to cleaning her top.

'So, what are we doing today?' asked Beetlejuice, setting a huge plate of pancakes on the table

'Thanks Beej' said Delia 'Um, I have to do some work, Lydia's got a school project to finish, and I don't know what the rest of you guys are planning on doing'

'Oh, Adam and Barb were going to help me' said Lydia, taking a pancake 'Its a photography project, and I need to find some stuff to photograph, I guess you could help too Beej' Beetlejuice grinned and pumped his fist in the air. Adam, Delia and Barbara smiled at the demon and each grabbed a pancake

'Beej, these are good' said Barbara, taking a bite 'Like really good'

'Thanks Babs' said Beetlejuice, feeling proud of himself. Adam moved closer to Barbara and wrapped his arms around her waist, resting one hand on her stomach and his chin on her shoulder. Lydia smiled at the two of them and grabbed her camera, knowing the perfect photo to start her project with


	7. Barbara's family

'We'll be back by 2.30' said Delia, grabbing her purse 'Please be good for Adam and Barbara, and once they go, you and Beej aren not allowed to destroy the house' she hugged Lydia quickly and went to wait by the door

'Just be a good girl, and get work done while the house is quiet' said Charles. He kissed Lydia's cheek and walked out the door with Delia. Lydia walked into the kitchen and found the Maitlands and Beetlejuice sitting at the table

'Hi guys' said Lydia, sitting down next to Barbara and grabbing a pancake off the plate in the middle of the table 'Barb, its nice to see you up early'

'Its actually pretty late Lydia' said Barbara, looking away from the coffee her husband was drinking 'Its 11.00, you just slept in today' 

'Oh, that makes sense' laughed Lydia. She looked across the table at Adam, who was listening to Beetlejuice practicing his reading allowed 'Adam, did she sleep in like this in your first life?' 

'Um, depended on how she felt' said Adam, looking up 'But its probably because we're still adjusting to being _"breathers"_ as Beej is calling us' Beetlejuice nodded at the correct use of the term 

'But why aren't you sleeping in?' asked Lydia 'Surly you are just as tired as Barb'

'Oh, you should see him at night' said Barbara 'I used to have to put his book on the other side of the room, because he wouldn't stop reading. Now he falls asleep with the book on his face, or he doesn't even read. He just falls into bed and starts snoring' she smiled sweetly at her husband 

'Thats incorrect Barb' said Adam, laughing at the confused look on Barbara's face 'You used to tell me off for keeping the light on when you were trying to sleep, and then you'd chuck my book across the room' Lydia and Beetlejuice laughed 'and then she'd put her arm over my chest and tell me that if I went to get the book, she'd kill me' 

'Love you sweetie' said Barbara, smiling innocently at him. Adam smiled at her and lent in to kiss her, only to have Barbara put her finger to his lips, pushing him away

'Eww, no, coffee breath' said Barbara, gagging slightly. Lydia looked strangely at her and then at Beetlejuice. _Whats up with her?_ Lydia mouthed at Beetlejuice, who avoided her eyes and turned back to the newspaper. Adam looked at Barbara and gave her a look. Barbara sighed and turned to Lydia 'Lydia, could we please talk to you?' asked Barbara

'Uhh, sure, why?' asked Lydia, getting up and walking into the lounge room

'Can I come?' asked Beetlejuice, standing up and walking with them

'You already know' said Adam. Beetlejuice looked confused for a second, before he nodded and smiled 

'Lyds, I'll be in your room, see ya' he blew Adam a kiss and disappeared. Lydia sat down on the couch and Adam and Barbara sat down either side of her

'Did I do something wrong?' asked Lydia 'Are you guys ok? Are you moving out? Did Delia leave her crystals everywhere again?'

'No, no, calm down' said Adam 'Nothing like that' Lydia sighed in relief 

'So, whats up?' asked Lydia, looking between the two Maitlands 'Oh, isn't your family coming over today Barb?'

'Yeah, in like 10 minutes' said Barbara, glancing at the clock 'Ok, we can't hide this from you for any longer Lyds' she took a deep breath 'I'm pregnant' Lydia's mouth dropped open and she stared at Barbara

'You serious?' she asked 'Like, for real? This is no joke?'

'Not a joke' said Barbara 'Very much real'

'Congratulations' said Lydia. She threw herself at Barbara and hugged her tightly for a second, before pulling away with a look of concern on her face 'Am I allowed to do that? Did I hurt you?'

'Lydia don't stress' laughed Barbara 'I'm not made of china' Lydia smiled and hugged Barbara again, although the hug was considerably gentler than before. Barbara pulled away 'So, are you ok with this?' she asked

'Definitely' said Lydia 'So, how far along are you? Are you showing? Oh my god, is that why you wouldn't kiss Adam?'

'I'm a month and a half along, its showing a little and yes, Adam needs to remember about his coffee breath' said Barbara

'Really?' asked Lydia 'Show me!' Barbara laughed and lifted her shirt up and Lydia gasped 'Thats so cool... and thats why you guys have been acting so weird around me'

'Sorry about that Lydia' said Adam 'Barb's been waking up really early every morning and has been pretty sick, so we've been passing it off as her sleeping in. She's spent many mornings curled up on the bathroom floor reading because she's felt that bad. We didn't want to overwhelm you with information, which is why we didn't tell you straight away, but I think I'm doing that, so I'll shut up' he closed his mouth and smiled at Lydia. Lydia laughed and looked at the time 

'Quickly, how many people know?' asked the teenager

'You, Delia, Charles and BJ' said Adam. Lydia smiled and the doorbell rung. Adam got up and opened the door. Barbara and Lydia heard footsteps looked up at the stairs, only to saw Beetlejuice looking through the railing from halfway up. Barbara put a finger to her lips and gave the demon a stern look. 

'Adam!' exclaimed a woman's voice, 'Oh I've missed you' Lydia looked over and saw a woman hugging Adam tightly. This woman was clearly Barbara's mother. She had light brown hair, and you could tell that she was related to Barbara, they both had that welcoming and happy feel to them. Barbara's mum pulled away from Adam and turned to look at Barbara 'Oh... Barb' Barbara stood up and ran to hug her mother

Lydia looked over at the 3 other people who were talking with Adam. There was a girl who looked to be in her early 20s, a woman who looked to be in her late 20s or early 30s and a boy around Lydia's age. Lydia gasped when she saw the boy

'Liam?' she asked in disbelief 

'Lydia?' asked the boy, Liam, turning to look at her

'Hold on' said Barbara, pulling away from her mother and looking between the 2 teenagers 'You know each other?' 

'Yeah' said Lydia slowly, not looking away from Liam 'We go to the same school and have most of our classes together' Liam nodded and Barbara laughed 

'Well, its a small world' she hugged her mother close again and wiped a few tears away. 'Mum, I'd like you to meet Lydia, Lyds, this is my mother'

'Hello dear' said Barbara's mother 'I'm Jill, its a pleasure to meet you, Barb told us a lot about you the other day on the phone, all good things of course' Lydia smiled and turned to look at the rest of the people in the room 

'Lyd, thats my sister, Hannah, my other sister Sam, and you apparently know my baby bro Liam' she turned to her mother 'Want to head out to lunch? Lyds parents won't be home for a few hours, and she's meant to be getting homework done while the house is quiet, and no one will distract her' she pointedly looked up at the stairs, where Beetlejuice grinned at her.

'Is that the essay for Ms Carr?' asked Liam 

'Yes, have you finished it?' asked Lydia. Liam shook his head and Lydia smiled 'It's impossible, who wants to write a thousand words on different types of rocks?'

'Exactly' said Liam 

'Liam, Lydia, maybe you can do it together sometime, or help each other' suggested Jill 'Anyway, it was a pleasure to meet you dear'

'We'll be back soon Lyds, please be good' said Barbara. She hugged Lydia and walked out the door with her mother, Adam, Hannah, Sam and Liam following, leaving Lydia and Beetlejuice alone.

**~**

'So you're Barb's family' said Delia, getting up to greet Barbara's family that had just walked through the door 'Its a pleasure to meet you, I'm Delia'

'Its lovely to meet you Delia' said Jill 

'This is my husband Charles' said Delia, pointing to Charles. 'Would you like anything to drink?'

'We'd love to, but we have to get going' said Jill 'Liam's got school tomorrow and we've got to get back home, Liam has an essay to finish apparently'

'Well, we'd love to have you over another time' said Delia, 'It'd be lovely to get to know Barb's family more, and it seems as though Lydia and Liam are pretty good friends' they all looked over to the two teenagers who were talking 

'10 bucks says there gonna start dating' whispered Sam and Hannah giggled. Barbara looked at her sisters and sighed. She wrapped her arms around Adam's middle, yawning. Adam put his arm around her and stroked her hair 

'We'll see you guys soon' said Jill, hugging Adam and Barbara goodbye and started to walk out the door 'It was a pleasure to meet you guys, and Barb, take care of yourself' Barbara rolled her eyes at her mother but nodded. Jill smiled and walked out of the house, with her family

'So, Lydia' said Barbara, turning to the teenager 'I see you're pretty good friends with my brother, anything going on there?'

'Barbara!'


	8. A relaxed morning

Adam woke up to Barbara getting out of bed and running to the bathroom. He rubbed his eyes and got out of bed, following his wife. Barbara was kneeling infront of the toilet, throwing her guts up. Adam knelt down beside her, held her hair back and rubbed her back. Once Barbara finished being sick, she sat back and took a few deep, shaky breaths. Adam handed her a cup of water and brushed her hair out of her face

'This sucks' said Barbara, sipping the water 'Is it ever gonna stop?'

'Remember, the doctor said last week that your symptoms may be more severe because of the unique circumstances' he smiled at her and kissed her cheek 'But you're handling it like a true legend, and I'm so proud of you' Barbara smiled at him before rubbing her stomach 'Think your gonna be sick again?' 

Barbara nodded and Adam grabbed a hair-tie off the corner of the basin. He knelt behind Barbara and started braiding her hair into a single, messing braid. In their first life, one rainy day, Adam and Barbara were bored and there was a power outage, meaning they couldn't do anything. So Barbara had suggested to Adam that he learn to braid hair, because why not, and she needed something to do. However, Adam was actually extremely good at braiding and he nailed it pretty much straight away. When Barbara asked him why he could do it so well, he simply said that his older sister and mum had gotten bored one day, much like Barbara, and decided to teach him to braid. The skill had stuck with him since. Barbara had taught him french braiding, as well as dutch braiding and how to do a fishtail plait/braid. 

Just as Adam had finished the braid, Barbara leant forward and threw up again. Adam rubbed her back comfortingly and softly kissed the back of her neck. Barbara finished and sat back against the cupboards, closing her eyes. Adam handed her another drink of water and kissed her temple. Barbara smiled at him. He was truly the most caring husband she could've asked for, and the fact that he got up with her early every morning made everything a little less awful. 

'Want to head back to bed?' asked Adam, 'Its probably still really early' Barbara nodded and Adam offered her a hand up. 'Do you feel ok now?'

'Yeah, I think I'll be good for an hour at least' said Barbara. They walked back into their bedroom and got back into bed. Barbara curled up into Adam's side and closed her eyes, almost immediately going to sleep. Adam brushed a few stray bits of hair out of her face, before kissing her forehead and also going to sleep.

Adam woke up 3 hours later, to find Barbara still curled up against him. He looked down at her and saw how relaxed and beautiful she looked while she slept. Gently, he leant down and kissed her forehead. Then he reached over to his bedside table and grabbed his book and reading glasses. Once he'd put his glasses on, and found his page in the book he settled back to read, all while keeping a protective arm around Barbara.

Barbara woke up to the sound of a page turning. She slowly opened her eyes and saw a book infront of her face. Then, she looked up at saw Adam in deep concentration, reading the book

'Hey cutie' she said. Adam looked down at her and smiled

'Morning honey' he said 'Feeling better?'

'Much' said Barbara, she sat up a little straighter 'Whatcha reading?'

'A book Lydia recommended to me, its called Divergent' said Adam, showing her the front of the book 'It's actually pretty good'

'Oh, I remember seeing the movie of that' said Barbara. She snuggled closer to his side, their bodies fitting perfectly together, like puzzle pieces 'Can you read it to me please? I still haven't got new contacts or glasses'

'Sure' said Adam 'But you've gotta get some soon' Barbara nodded. She had always been a little self conscious about her glasses, because in her first year at middle school, she was teased a little, so she stuck to wearing contacts. Non of the Deetz or Beetlejuice knew that she wore or needed glasses, and she wanted it to stay that way for as long as possible. Barbara pushed that thought aside, and put her head on Adam's chest, closing her eyes. She felt relaxed and happy, listening to the soothing voice of her husband as he read her an adventurous story about hope and courage.


	9. Cleaning day

'Delia? Dad?' Lydia walked into the house after school one day 'Adam? Barb?' the house was silent, which was kind of concerning. 'Beej?' It made sense for her parents to be out, but for the Maitlands to not be home was a bit strange and to not have Beetlejuice there was practically unheard of. She wandered through the silent house and put her school bag in her bedroom, before leaving the room again. Lydia had just reached the top of the stairs when she heard someone call her name.

'Lydia, oh your home' Lydia turned around and saw Delia walking down the attic stairs 'I didn't hear you'

'Where is everyone?' asked Lydia, walking to Delia 

'Up in the attic' said Delia 'Adam and Barbara decided that they didn't want their old stuff intruding on us any longer, so we've been cleaning and sorting through it' 

'Cool, can I join?' asked Lydia, Delia nodded and Lydia raced up the attic stairs. From the few boxes she'd looked through in the attic, she knew that the Maitlands had a lot of cool and interesting stuff, and she wanted to look at as much of it as she could. Lydia burst into the attic, starting Barbara a little, who screamed 'Sorry Barb' said Lydia sheepishly 

'Its alright Lydia' said Barbara, waving at her from her place on the floor, where she was looking through a box 'How was school?'

'Boring' said Lydia, she looked around the room 'This stuff looks way more interesting'

'Do you have homework?' asked Barbara in a motherly tone

'God... you sound like a mother' muttered Lydia, sitting down next to Barbara 'I have homework, but that can wait' Barbara laughed and ruffled Lydia's hair 

'Well in a few months, I will be a mother, so its good to know I fit the role' she shifted so she was sitting next to Lydia 'Look what I found, its an album full of baby and kid photos of Adam' 

'No way' Lydia took the album and opened it up 'This is too good'

'What is?' asked Adam, coming over and looking over their shoulders 

'Nothing' said Lydia and Barbara quickly, slamming the book shut and Lydia quickly putting her legs over it 

'Ok, ok' Adam shrugged 'Nice to see you Lydia, how was school?'

'Boring' said Lydia 'What you looking at over there?'

'There's an old wardrobe over in the corner, and Charles and I are trying to move all the boxes and junk away from it'

'Please be careful honey' said Barbara nervously 'I don't exactly trust this floor'

'We'll be fine' said Adam, he started walking away, before turning back to Lydia 'Oh, Beej told me to tell you to summon him when you get back from school'

'I wondered where he was' said Lydia, sliding the album to Barbara, who took it and hid it under her shirt 

'Yeah, he got bored of us today, because apparently we were being too boring' he sighed 'I think he went to go prank people, or to the Netherworld, but summon him of you want, it's been awfully quiet without him' he laughed and walked off. 

'Come here Lyds' said Barbara. Lydia moved closer to Barbara and they opened up the photo album. 

'Thats so cute' said Lydia when she saw the first photo. It was a photo of Adam and his older sister, Bella, lying down on the floor, surrounded by toys. Young Adam had his arms wrapped around a big toy dog and was grinning at the camera. Bella was dressed in her school uniform and clutching a mattered toy cat to her chest.

'I have to show this to Belle when she comes over' muttered Barbara, smiling at the photo

'When are they coming over?' asked Lydia, looking down at Adam's sister in wonder, for she'd only recently learned that he even had a sister

'Umm, 2 weeks, I think' said Barbara. She went to turn the page, but Adam called out to them, coming over. Quickly they slammed the book shut again, and quickly put it in a box

'We uncovered the wardrobe' said Adam, 'Want to come look with us?'

'Sure' said Lydia. She got up and she and Barbara followed Adam into a dark corner of the attic, that felt abandoned 

'Later, we'll look at that' whispered Barbara. Lydia smirked and nodded 'Maybe you can show me some of your baby photos too'

'Only if you show me yours' said Lydia.

'Deal' said Barbara. They shook hands and moved behind Adam and Charles. 

'I'll leave you too it for a bit' said Charles 'Delia's making drinks and afternoon tea, want anything?' he looked at the 3 of them 'Tea? Coffee?'

'Coffee' said Lydia then she added 'Please' after Barbara and Charles raised their eyebrows at her

'Barb, Adam, you want tea?'

'That'd be lovely thank you Charles' said Barbara. Charles smiled and left the attic. Adam opened the wardrobe doors and Barbara gasped. Sitting in the wardrobe was a beautiful long white dress, with a couple of other dresses. Gently Barbara reached out and stroked the white dress

'Is that your wedding dress?' asked Lydia

'Yeah' said Barbara, she looked at Adam 'I'd forgotten we'd put it up here'

'Why is it in a neglected cupboard up in the attic?' asked Lydia 'surrounded by boxes'

'We were getting new wardrobes in the rooms, so we put all my good dresses up here, and then we never got round to moving them back' she laughed 'as for why its surrounded by boxes, I actually don't know, Adam?' she looked at her husband.

'A few days before we died, we were cleaning out all our stuff, so thats why there is so much stuff up here, we were going to find new places for it, but instead, we died' 

'What are these other ones?' asked Lydia, looking at the other dresses

'Um, that was from my dads funeral, I kept it because it was really pretty' said Barbara, pulling out a beautiful black lace dress 'Reminds me of what you like to wear Lyds' 

'Its a wicked dress' said Lydia, stroking the material 

'You can have any of these' said Barbara, gesturing to the dresses 'Non of them will fit me any time soon, and I have no use for them' Lydia's mouth dropped open and she hugged Barbara. Adam took a bright yellow dress out of the cupboard 

'I'm sure Delia would love to see you in yellow again' he said. Lydia looked at him with a _seriously_ look on her face.

'No' she said firmly 'Never again'. Then, there was a loud bang and Beetlejuice appeared 

'Lydia!' he said excitedly 'Thank god/satan your back, these two were so boring today' he gestured to the Maitlands. Then he looked in the wardrobe and pulled out a dress, which was black and white striped 'We can match!' he snapped his fingers and Lydia was wearing the dress

'Beej!' exclaimed Lydia, before she caught sight of herself in the mirror in the corner 'Oh wow'

'You look gorgeous Lyds' said Barbara. The black and white dress was a tight dress that stopped above the knee and had long sleeves. Lydia never wore tight dress or clothes, and preferred to hide her body, but this dress made her look beautiful. Barbara gently went to Lydia and took the hair-clips out of her hair, letting her long fringe fall into her eyes. 

'WE MATCH!' exclaimed Beetlejuice, picking Lydia up and swinging her around. Lydia laughed and eventually Beetlejuice put her down 'Theres one thing missing' he said, then he snapped his fingers again, and mascara appeared in his hand 'Come here Lydia'

'No! I don't trust you' said Lydia, she ran across to the other side of the attic, and Beetlejuice followed her. Adam wrapped his arms around Barbara's growing stomach and put his chin on her shoulder, resting his cheek against hers. Barbara leaned into her husbands embrace and the two of them watched Beetlejuice chase Lydia around the attic. 


	10. Kicks

Barbara stared at herself in the mirror, amazed at the sight of her body. She was now 3 and a half months into her pregnancy and her stomach was fairly obverse. She had taken to wearing exercise pants and oversized t-shirts around the house, and finally had stopped throwing up every morning. She jumped a little as two hands slid round her waist and spun her around. She grinned and put her hands on her husbands shoulders

'Morning sweetheart' said Adam, kissing her. He pulled away and looked at her bare stomach 'You look beautiful, as always'

'I'm getting fat' sighed Barbara, looking back at herself in the mirror 

'Honey, no' said Adam 'You're not, you're beautiful' Barbara raised her eyebrows at him 'Barb, you're beautiful. Yes, you're not as thin as you used to be, but you're growing a child inside of you, which is incredible and an amazing gift we've both been blessed with. So please, don't call yourself fat ever again sweetie, just call yourself beautiful'

'I love you' said Barbara, throwing her arms around him. Adam hugged her back, and their bedroom door opened. Lydia lent against the doorway and watched the Maitlands for a while, with a smile on her face. Barbara lifted her head off Adam's shoulder, and waved at the teenager 'Good morning Lyds' 

'Hi Barb' said Lydia, standing awkwardly in the door way 'Hey Adam'

'Hi Lydia' said Adam 'Whats up?'

'Oh, I was just heading downstairs and decided to see if you guys were up, before Beej came and woke you up' said Lydia 

'We don't need him waking us up ever again' said Barbara, thinking back to what the demon had done Saturday morning

_Beetlejuice snuck into Lydia's bedroom at 5.30am and found the teenager awake in bed and watching a movie on her laptop. Lydia jumped and slammed her laptop shut, looking up at Beetlejuice  
"What the hell do you want Beej?" she whispered, taking her headphones off   
"Wanna help me prank the Maitlands?" asked Beetlejuice, sitting on the edge of her bed  
"No" said Lydia firmly "Definitely not, they need a break" she put her laptop on the floor next to her bed and lay down, closing her eyes "Leave me alone BJ, I gotta get some sleep"  
"Fine, be boring" muttered Beetlejuice, getting off the bed and walking to the door "I'll just go prank them myself". Lydia lay in bed for a minute before realising what Beetlejuice was going to do, and quickly following him.   
_

_Beetlejuice used his powers to make 2 tubs of water hover above the sleeping Maitlands. The couple lay in each others embrace, and Adam had his arm over Barbara's stomach. Beetlejuice stood next to Adam, and put an airhorn right next to the male's ear. When the loud sound blasted in his ear, Adam yelled and sat up straight, looking round. Beetlejuice laughed and floated to the ceiling. Barbara opened her eyes and, before she could say anything, two massive buckets of water splashed over the couple  
_

_"BEETLEJUICE!" yelled Barbara angrily, sitting up and pushing her wet hair out of her eyes. She looked up at the ceiling, where Beetlejuice was rolling over laughing and glared at him. Lydia rushed into the room and her eyes widened at what she saw._  
For the rest of the day, the Maitlands were grumpy, and Beetlejuice wasn't allowed to talk to Lydia for the whole of Saturday or Sunday as punishment (which was also punishment for Lydia because she had also been told off for being up at 5.30 watching a movie).   


'Hello? Barb? Earth to Barb?' Lydia's voice pulled Barbara out of her thoughts. She shook her head slightly and looked at Lydia 

'Hi Lydia' she said 'Whats up?'

'Hi, I gotta quickly get a drink and then leave for school, but I just wanted to see if you wanted to walk to school with me again, I really enjoyed the company last time' Lydia awkwardly stood in the middle of the room and looked at Barbara 'But if you don't want to, I completely understand'

'I'd love to Lydia' said Barbara. Lydia smiled and walked out of the room, to get coffee. Barbara sat down on the edge of the bed to put her shoes on. However, she felt exhausted after just putting her foot in the shoe, let alone tying it. 'Adam?' she asked, looking at her husband 'Can you help me please?'

'Sure hon' laughed Adam, kneeling down infront of her and tying her shoe up, and reaching for the other. Barbara smiled gratefully at her husband, before gasping and placing a hand on her stomach 'Whats wrong honey?' asked Adam, looking up at her 

'I think the baby just kicked' said Barbara softly, looking at him 'It didn't feel like much, but I think it did'

'Barb, thats amazing' said Adam, finishing tying her other shoe and sitting next to her 'Why are you crying?'

'I don't know' said Barbara, wiping at her eyes and giggling 'I'm just so happy'

'Thats great honey' said Adam 'I wonder when-' he was cut off by Lydia yelling from downstairs

'BARB! I'M GOING!' yelled the teenager 'HURRY UP!"

'Coming' replied Barbara. 'I'll be back soon'. She kissed Adam lightly on the lips and quickly walked down to Lydia. 'Lydia, remember your father actually gets a day off today, so maybe not shouting would've been better'

'Whatever' said Lydia, sipping her coffee 'Lets go'. She and Barbara walked out of the house together and started walking down the street. 'So, do you have any plans today?' asked Lydia

'Um, Adam was going to look at jobs and I was considering joining him. Maybe also tidy the house a little, and tell Beej he's allowed to talk to you again' said Barbara, breathing in the fresh air

'Oh, cool' said Lydia. She fiddled a little with the lid of her coffee cup. Barbara could tell something was up with Lydia, but she couldn't work out what

'Is everything ok Lydia?' asked Barbara 'You seemed a little awkward around us this morning, did we do anything to upset you?'

'No' said Lydia, still fiddling with the lid 'It's just still so weird for me to see you guys alive. Don't get me wrong, I love spending time with you guys and having you be able to do normal human stuff is amazing, but it's still strange for me to see you pregnant or to see you leave the house' she looked up at Barbara 'Does that make sense?'

'Definitely sweetie' said Barbara, making Lydia sigh in relief 'Its strange for us too, we don't exactly know how to fully function as alive people, but having you, Charles, Delia and even Beej... sometimes, has helped us a lot' she put an arm around Lydia and squeezed her tight as they stopped at the school gates 'Have a good day, don't do anything stupid' said Barbara 

'I won't' laughed Lydia, she started to walk away but quickly turned back to Barbara 'Would you ever leave us?' asked Lydia 

'What do you mean honey?' asked Barbara, putting an arm on Lydia's shoulder

'Like move out?' asked Lydia

'Well, we can't stay with you guys forever' said Barbara, 'But we won't leave anytime soon' 

'Promise?' asked Lydia 

'I promise' said Barbara. Lydia hugged Barbara tightly again and didn't let go until her name was called out by someone

'YO, LYDIA!' it was her friend May. She walked over to Lydia, who had quickly waved goodbye to Barbara. 'Who was that? You're older sister?' Lydia laughed and shook her head, smiling back at Barbara. 

Barbara smiled as Lydia walked inside the school gates, happily talking with her friend. She set off back home, smiling to herself again when she felt a tiny kick against her stomach.


	11. Can't sleep

'Are you sure you're ok with this?' asked Delia, looking at Barbara 'Because we can bring Lydia with us, or we can call her friends parents'

'Delia, we're fine' said Barbara 'Please stop worrying and have a proper honeymoon, you two deserve it' 

'Are you sure?' asked Delia 'Because we really don't want to stress you guys out, or put you under pressure'

'Delia' Barbara put her hand on the females shoulders 'Please, stop worrying and just have fun. We'll be fine, Lydia's easy to look after, and I promise we won't stress. This week is going to fly by, so make the most of it please'

'Ok, thank you so much' said Delia, hugging Barbara quickly and looking at her watch 'We gotta dash, but we'll call when we reach Hawaii' she grabbed Charles arm and dragged him out the door, calling a final goodbye to Barbara before shutting the door. Barbara laughed slightly before heading upstairs and looking into Lydia's bedroom. 

It was 10.45pm and Barbara was surprised to see the teenager awake. Both Lydia and Adam had said goodbye to Charles and Delia earlier than night and then had both gone to bed. She could clearly hear her husbands snores from down the hall, so she knew he was fast asleep, but finding Lydia awake was surprising because the teenager had been really tired earlier. Barbara walked over to Lydia and was surprised to see that she was crying

'Lydia, whats wrong sweetie?' asked Barbara, sitting down on Lydia's bed and looking at the teenager 

'I had a nightmare' sniffed Lydia, wiping her eyes and looking down at the floor 

'Do you want a hug?' asked Barbara. Lydia nodded and crawled into Barbara's arms, bursting into tears again. Barbara rubbed Lydia's back and gently rocked back and forth, holding Lydia close. Slowly, Lydia's cries died down and she pulled away from Barbara 'Want to talk about it?' asked Barbara

'I was with my mum, she was still alive, and you guys were there, with your 3 children, and so was dad, Delia and Beej. We were all happy and having lunch and playing in the local park. Then, suddenly, BJ's mum appeared out of nowhere and shot each of you multiple times all over your bodies. I was left alone in the world with no one... no one to love me' Lydia wiped her eyes and looked at Barbara 'That probably sounds stupid'

'No, honey, it doesn't' said Barbara, wiping a tear off Lydia's cheek and smiling at her 'It's perfectly understandable. I remember when I was younger, I had this dream where ghosts haunted my neighbourhood every night and one night, I was walking with my friend out on the street and a ghost came towards us. It put its hand out and touched me. When it did touch me, my whole body went numb and I couldn't hear anything and everything went black. I woke up with a numb leg and screamed for my dad. I have been terrified of my street at night ever since and I still refuse to look outside at night'

'Really?' asked Lydia. Barbara nodded and Lydia laughed 'Thats really funny, cause then you became a ghost'

'Yeah, I guess it is' said Barbara. 'You're parents just left, and so you're stuck with us for the week kid' Lydia smiled 

'Thats good, I like you guys' Barbara smiled 

'We like you too' she stood up and looked at Lydia 'I'm going to head to bed, and stop Adam from snoring' she kissed Lydia on the forehead 'Goodnight, don't hesitate to come to us if you need anything, I'll still be awake for a while' she waved to Lydia and walked out of the room. Once she had changed into her pyjamas, Barbara got into bed and gently shook Adam's shoulder 'Adam, honey'

'Hmm... what?' Adam rolled over and looked at her 'Oh, hi honey, is it morning already?'

'No, its only 11' laughed Barbara 'You were snoring, and I could hear it from Lydia's room'

'Oh, ok, I'll try stop' said Adam. He kissed her and closed his eyes again, going straight back to sleep. Barbara put a hand on his back and started reading her book. She'd been reading for half an hour, when there was a gentle knock on the door. Barbara looked up and saw Lydia poking her head round the door 

'Hi Lydia' said Barbara 'What's wrong?'

'I can't sleep' mumbled Lydia 'And you said I could come see you if I needed anything'

'Come here sweetie' said Barbara, shifting over to the middle of the bed, moving Adam's arm so she had space. Lydia slowly walked into the room and stood next to the bed 'Sit down' said Barbara. Lydia sat on the very edge of the bed and fiddled with her hands. 'Come here Lydia' said Barbara, opening her arms up

'Barb, you don't need to' said Lydia 'I'll just go-' she was cut off by Barbara pulling her into a hug 'Or not' she muttered. Lydia rested her head on Barbara's chest and instantly relaxed 'You don't don't have to do this Barb, I can go back to bed'

'No, it's fine sweetheart' said Barbara 'Is anything bothering you, anything on your mind?' 

'Every time I close my eyes, all I see is you guys dead on the ground' said Lydia. Barbara hugged her tighter

'Aw, its not real, remember that' said Barbara

'But it looked so real' said Lydia, shifting slightly so she was closer to Barbara. Barbara gently stroked Lydia's hair and tried to think of a way to get Lydia to sleep, since the teenager had school the next day

'Hey, why don't you tell me about the start of the dream' said Barbara 'Just think of all the good things that were happening before the bad thing' 

'Ok, well' Lydia sat up and looked at Barbara 'Well, you guys were alive and had 3 kids, 2 daughters and a son. Your oldest daughter was 8, your son was 7 and your youngest daughter was 5. Oh, you were also pregnant. You, Delia and my mum were sitting around talking, while Beej and I played with your kids. Adam and Dad were taking naps after lunch and were fast asleep'

'That sounds so nice, very realistic about Adam, as you can see' laughed Barbara, nodding to her husband who had started snoring again 'Sweetheart, your snoring again' she whispered

'Ok... I'll stop' mumbled Adam, rolling over so he was on his side with his arms wrapped around the pillow 'Night honey' he mumbled before falling asleep again. Barbara sighed and Lydia giggled a little, having never seen Adam that way before. 

'Come here Lydia' said Barbara. Lydia settled down next to Barbara and laid her head on Barbara's chest, listening to the sound of her heart beat. Barbara stroked Lydia's hair and started humming a song under her breath. Slowly, Lydia's eyes started shutting, and eventually the teenager fell asleep. Barbara stopped humming and looked at Lydia with a smile

'Why'd you stop?' asked Adam sleepily, propping himself up on his elbows and looking at his wife 'I was enjoying hearing you sing again'

'Oh hush' said Barbara, she gestured to Lydia 'I finally got her to sleep' 

'I'll take her to bed' said Adam. He gently took Lydia from Barbara and took her to bed. Then, he came back and got back into bed next to Barbara. The two of them snuggled up next to each other 'You know, we have to get her up early tomorrow morning' said Adam

'Yeah, good luck with that' said Barbara, turning off the light and kissing Adam 'Goodnight honey'

'Night sweetheart' mumbled Adam and the couple fell fast asleep in each others embrace. 


	12. Moving

It'd been 2 months since Charles and Delia's honey moon, and the Maitland/Deetz family and pretty much adjusted to their new lives as a family of 6. Beetlejuice and Lydia were still causing chaos everyday, but were also being helpful. Beetlejuice was enjoying feeling like he was part of a family. He would help Charles cook dinner, read with Adam, garden with Barbara, cause chaos with Lydia and surprisingly he loved to do yoga with Delia. 

Charles was having huge success in his work, and was becoming very well-known. Delia had quit life-coaching and was very close to becoming a therapist. The two of them had grown as a couple and had developed a strong relationship. Lydia had started warming up to Delia, and actually voluntarily talked about her mum to her, which thrilled Delia beyond belief. 

Adam and Barbara had both found jobs. Barbara was teaching singing at Lydia's high school, and the primary school near it. Adam worked in the local antique store restoring the old stuff brought in by people. It may seem like a boring job, but he loved it. Barbara was now 5 months pregnant, and her stomach was fairly big. They had discovered that their baby was developing faster than normal, and so instead of April they expected the baby to arrive in March. This both scared and excited Barbara. 

**~**

Lydia was sitting in her bedroom, reading over her english essay, trying to work out what to add to make the word count, when she heard her parents calling her name. She quickly shut her laptop and ran downstairs, wondering if one of them could help her, however her essay was pushed out of her mind when she saw all 4 of her parents sitting looking up at her with similar expressions on their faces.

'What happened?' she asked immediately 'What's wrong?'

'Take a seat Lydia' said Delia, gesturing to the empty chair opposite them, but Lydia chose to sit on the arm of the couch next to her father

'What'd I do wrong?' asked Lydia 'If somethings broken, Beej did it, it wasn't me'

'Lydia, calm down, it's nothing like that' said Charles 'The Maitlands have something they'd like to tell you' Lydia looked at the Maitlands, who looked sad and nervous 

'Whats up?' asked Lydia cheerfully, relaxing knowing that she wasn't in trouble

'Um... well...' Adam fiddled with his hands and didn't meet Lydia's eyes 

'We're moving' said Barbara, saving her husband the trouble. Lydia's mouth dropped open and she stared at the Maitlands 

'I'm sorry... what?' asked Lydia 'When? Where? Is this why you've been acting weird around me?' 

'We're sorry Lyds' said Barbara, looking down 'We've been moving all our stuff out of here for the past week and we've been getting new furniture for the house' she looked up at Lydia 'but good news is that its only one street away, so we're really close still' Barbara tried to smile at Lydia, but the look on the teenagers face made it difficult 

'Why?' asked Lydia quietly 

'Your parents have been very kind for the past few months, letting us stay here, but we figured we have to leave you guys sometime' said Adam 

'But why? We're your family' said Lydia

'And we love that' said Barbara 'But we've got a new life, and we've got to make a new home. And it'd be really unfair expecting you guys to live with a newborn baby' she said, putting a hand on her stomach 'Do you know how much noise they make?'

'But this is your home' said Lydia, gesturing around the room

'This was our home' corrected Barbara 'But its your home now'

'When are you going?' asked Lydia after a moment. She looked at the Maitlands, who didn't meet her eyes 'Adam, Barb, when are you going?' repeated Lydia, a little louder

'Tomorrow' said Barbara quietly, she looked up at Lydia and saw the look on her face 'Lydia, I'm sorry, we didn't know when to tell you. Your father thought it'd be best to leave it till the last minute' 

'Well he was wrong, wasn't he' said Lydia, getting to her feet and running upstairs, furiously wiping at her eyes. The 4 adults looked at each other, surprised by the teenagers sudden outburst 

'Uhh... anyone wanna...' Delia nodded her head upstairs 

'I'll go' said Barbara, standing up and walking upstairs. Out of Lydia's 4 parents, Barbara was the one who could get Lydia to talk the most. None of them knew if it was because Lydia saw Barbara as a mother, or if it was the way Barbara acted, but Lydia would nearly always listen to Barbara. When she reached Lydia's bedroom door, Barbara gently knocked on the door 

'Go away Delia' came Lydia's muffled voice 'And if it's not Delia, then I don't wanna talk dad'

'Good thing I'm not either of them' said Barbara, she opened the door a little 'Can we talk Lyds?'

'I guess' said Lydia, sitting up and wiping her eyes. Barbara walked in and sat next to her 

'You ok Lydia?' asked Barbara 

'No' said Lydia 'Why do you have to go? Its so unfair, why can't you stay forever, I'm gonna be so lonely' she sighed

'You'll have your dad and Delia' said Barbara 'And Beej, when he gets back from the Netherworld'

'Yeah, thats another 2 weeks' said Lydia 'And I'll be lonely because I won't have you guys in the attic, or just down the hall... it'll be strange' Barbara put an arm around Lydia, and an idea hit her

'Hey, can you come up to the attic with me' said Barbara. Lydia nodded uncertainly and the two of them climbed up to the attic. When they entered the old room, Barbara made her way to the window and opened it, climbing out to the roof

'Uhh, should you be doing that?' asked Lydia, looking out at Barbara, who nodded and gestured for her to follow. Lydia climbed out and sat next to Barbara, who was looking out over the backyard and at the rest of the neighbourhood 'Which one's yours?' asked Lydia 

'Right there' said Barbara, pointing to the house right opposite them

'You mean the one that the backyard connects with our backyard?' asked Lydia, looking closely at the house

'Yup' said Barbara. Lydia hugged Barbara again 'Ok with it then?'

'No, I'm still mad, and I don't know if I'll forgive you' said Lydia 'But this makes it a little better' she hugged Barbara extra tight 'Adam's going to be so mad if he finds us out here'

'I know' said Barbara, then they heard their names being called by Adam from downstairs 'Speaking of which... we should probably get down' Lydia nodded and the two of them quickly got off the roof, and back into the attic just as the door opened and Adam walked in 

'Oh thank god' he said, leaning against the door 'I couldn't find you, and you didn't answer me-'

'We're fine honey' said Barbara 'I was showing Lydia the new house, she's still mad at us, but a little more ok with it because they connect' she looked at the teenager 'Wanna go check it out?'

'Of course' said Lydia. She grabbed Adam and Barbara's hands, and dragged them downstairs


	13. New house

Lydia stood outside the Maitlands new house and looked up at the 2 story house. It was similar to their old house, but was a little more modern and a lot bigger (which was saying something cause their old house was fairly big). Lydia turned and looked at the Maitlands, who held the key out to her. She took it and unlocked the front door

'Wow' said Lydia as she walked inside, her voice echoing around the empty space 'This place is huge'

'Yeah' laughed Barbara, closing the door behind them and putting an arm around Adam 

'If you don't mind me asking, why'd you buy such a big house?' asked Lydia 

'We didn't' laughed Adam 'This was my families house, but as you know, they live in England now, and they've been renting it out to people, but then they surprised us, and said they'd given it to us' explained Adam 'Thats why us moving was so sudden, we didn't expect to either'

'Oh' said Lydia 'That makes sense, sorry for overreacting' she looked at the ground awkwardly 

'Its fine Lydia' said Barbara 'We understand completely'

'God' muttered Lydia 'I see what Beej means, you two really are to forgiving, can you even get mad?' Barbara giggled and shook her head 

'I've learned to control my temper' she explained 'when I was younger, my temper was awful and I wrecked a lot of things' she smiled at Lydia 'Anyway, they're stories for another time' 

'Can we have a look around?' asked Lydia. The Maitlands nodded and Lydia ran off upstairs 'We're starting from the top, and working our way down, backyard last' announced Lydia, reaching the top of the stairs 'Which way to the attic?'

'Door right at the end' said Adam 'There might be a lot of junk up there though, we haven't looked up there yet' Lydia shrugged and walked up the attic steps. She opened the door, and walked into the old room. There was an old model sitting on a table in the middle, and there were boxes piled in a corner, by an old couch covered in a sheet

'Whats that?' asked Lydia, going over to the model 'Hey, thats the town!'

'I forgot you made that' said Barbara, going over to the model and looking closer at it 'These needs to be updated'

'Maybe that can be my project' said Adam, he quickly looked over the town model 'These definitely needs work' he lent forward to move something but Barbara took his hand and dragged him towards the door 

'You can look at it later' she said, knowing how long her husband would spend on the model, making it perfect 'we have to get Lydia back before dinner' the three of them left the attic and started looking over the second floor.

There were many rooms on the second and ground floor, and one in particular caught Lydia's eye. It was a room right next to the attic, that had a beautiful view of the backyard. There was a window seat, and the room was painted a dark purple. Adam told her that it had been his sisters room when she was younger, and Lydia knew that she had to have more conversations with Adam's sister. 

'And this is the backyard' said Barbara, leading Lydia out into the huge backyard

'Wow' breathed Lydia, looking around 'This place is amazing'. On the left side of the yard, there was an big, old tree with a wooden swing attached to it. There was a pool and a huge overgrown vegetable patch, that Lydia could tell Barbara was going to fix.

'Go take a quick look, then we gotta get you back to your parents' said Barbara, sitting down on the swing and gently rocking back and fourth. Lydia quickly wandered around the yard, before turning to Adam and running at him. She wrapped her arms around him and gave him a massive hug. 

'Woah Lydia' said Adam, steadying the two of them and hugging her back 'Whats this for?'

'This house is amazing' said Lydia 'And I'm so happy for you two, its really great'

'Thanks Lydia' said Adam, hugging her tightly 

'Hey, did you have a favourite room?' asked Barbara getting up and walking over to the two of them 

'Adam's sisters old room was really frikin' cool' said Lydia, looking at Adam 'I need to talk to your sister about how she made that room look so cool, maybe do it to my room at home'

'You can have that room' said Barbara 

'What?' asked Lydia, looking between the two of them 

'Well, we figured that you'll probably stay here a lot, and we thought why not give you your own room, since there are so many rooms here anyway' said Adam 

'No way, you guys are the best' said Lydia, hugging the Maitlands tightly again 'Thank you so much'

'You're welcome Lydia' said Barbara, kissing her head and smiling at her 'We have to get you back to your parents though, dinners soon'

'Whats for dinner?' asked Lydia, as they walked back through the house and out the front door 

'I think your father and Delia were gonna make pizza' said Adam 

'Beej'll be mad he missed out on it' laughed Lydia 

'I think they chose to do it while Beej wasn't here so he didn't burn the house down' said Barbara, giggling

'I'm still mad about you moving' muttered Lydia. She crossed her arms and shivered as the wind hit her 

'Here' said Barbara, taking her jacket off and putting it over Lydia's shoulders

'Thanks Barb' said Lydia. Barbara smiled and put an arm around Lydia, linking her other hand with Adams. The three of them walked back to their house, laughing the whole way, happy to be together. 


	14. Settling in

'Hey Ad? We should go through those boxes in the attic' called Barbara, walking out of the kitchen with 2 sandwiches and going to find her husband 'Adam?'

'I'm in the backyard honey' Adam called back. Barbara smiled and walked outside. Adam had his back against the big tree, and was reading his book. 'Hey beautiful' he said, looking up at her 

'Hi' said Barbara, sitting down and handing Adam his sandwich 'How's the book?'

'It's getting really intense' said Adam 'And theres a chapter left, so I'll need the next book, but I don't have it' he put the bookmark in and set the book aside 'How are you?'

'Good, but I miss talking to Lydia' said Barbara, leaning against him 

'You saw her yesterday' said Adam 

'Yes, this is the first day, since we met her, that I haven't seen her' said Barbara 'Can we go visit them?'

'I need to get the last book from Lydia' said Adam, patting the top of his book 'So maybe in a little, once Charles and Delia are back from work' 

'Ok' said Barbara, satisfied. The two of them sat in a comfortable silence, while they finished their lunch, happy to be together. Once they'd finished, the two of them got up and went inside. Adam immediately sat down on the couch to finish his book and Barbara walked upstairs to find a jumper, because she was cold. While she was looking through her wardrobe, she started singing a song under her breath. It was a song from Catch Me If You Can, the musical, and it'd been stuck in her head all week. One of her students at school had started learning it, and she couldn't get the song out of her head, even though school had been out for a week already. 

After failing to find a jumper in her side of the wardrobe, she moved onto her husbands side, hoping to find something that would fit her. Immediately, her eyes were drawn to the over-sized hoodie that Adam had bought in highschool, and she pulled it out. Quickly she put it on, just as she reached the high notes in the song

_"Baby, when you're in the clouds, please keep a lookout  
_ _Maybe, darling, find a hideaway for you and I, you and I  
_ _Then I'll see him fly, fly"_

She wandered out of the bedroom and walked downstairs, finishing the song off. Adam closed his book and smiled at her. He chucked the book aside and went to her, kissing her on the cheek when she finished the song 

'That was beautiful honey' he said 'You have real talent, and that song is perfect for your voice'

'Thanks' said Barbara 'Finished the book?'

'Just then' said Adam 'Maybe we can head round to the Deetz at 5?' 

'Sure' said Barbara 'Wanna watch a movie?' Adam nodded 'Any movie?' asked Barbara. Adam nodded again, looking a little uncertain 'We're watching Tangled' announced Barbara, sitting down on the couch 

'Really?' asked Adam, and Barbara nodded 'Fine' he sat down next to her and she laid down in his arms, resting her head on his chest 'Exactly how many times did Lizzie make us watch this?' asked Adam, as the movie started

'Too many' laughed Barbara 'But I like it'

'I'm never going to escape it, am I?' sighed Adam

'Nope' said Barbara happily. The two of them happily watched the movie, and Barbara sang along to all the songs, which made Adam smile. In their first life, she had stopped singing after loosing the baby, which saddened Adam a lot. But it thrilled Adam to hear her sing again, and he could tell she was happy. The movie finished and Barbara looked at Adam 'I don't think I'll ever get sick of that'

'I was sick of it a long time ago' said Adam, stroking her hair 'But if you like it, then I'll watch it'

'You're the best' said Barbara, leaning up for a kiss. They broke apart and Barbara giggled 'Also, you'll do anything for Lizzie, won't you?'

'Oh come on, you know I can't say no to her' said Adam 'When she looks at you with those baby blue eyes, I can't resist her'

'You know, she's probably grown up a lot since we last saw her' said Barbara 'When was the last time we saw her?'

'2017' said Adam 'God, that was ages ago, she's what? 15 now isn't she?'

'Round that, yeah' said Barbara. She kissed him on the cheek and snuggled closer to his side, closing her eyes 'I love you'

'I love you too honey' said Adam, putting his arms protectively around her and also closing his eyes.


	15. Jump scares

'Lyd. Lyd. Lyd. Lyd. Lyd. Lyd. Lyd. Lyd. Lyd. Lyd. Lyd. Lyd. Lyd. Lyd. Lyd. Lyd. Lyd. Lyd. Lyd. Lyd. Lyd. Lyd. Lyd. Lyd. Lyd. Lyd. Lyd. Lyd. Lyd. Lyd. Lyd. Lyd. Lyd. Lyd. Lyd. Lyd. Lyd. Lyd. Lyd. Lyd' Beetlejuice stood next to Lydia's bed and poked the sleeping teenager every time he said her name

'Lydia?'

Poke

'Lydia!'

Poke

'Lyd-'

'Whoever's poking me, stop, I'm tryna sleep' mumbled Lydia, rolling over with her eyes closed 'go away'

'But its your favourite demon' said Beetlejuice, sounding offended 

'What?' mumbled Lydia, she opened one eye and looked over at Beetlejuice 'Beej!' she sat up and hugged the demon tightly, all her anger and sleepiness leaving her 'You're back!'

'I missed ya scarecrow' said Beetlejuice, hugging Lydia back 'Two weeks is too long'

'It is' said Lydia, she sat back and looked at the time. Shrugging she stood up and pulled a hoodie on 'Usually I'd say 7.30 is too early, but I want to talk to you, lets go get breakfast' 

'What've I missed?' asked Beetlejuice as they sat at the table 'Whats all the juicy gossip?'

'Oh... schools out' said Lydia 'I finished last week'

'More time together!' said Beetlejuice happily 

'Umm, Christmas is next week' said Lydia, she sipped her coffee trying to think of more things that'd happened 'There's something else...'

'Hey, where are Babs and Sexy? They're usually up by now' Beetlejuice looked round the empty quiet kitchen

'Oh, thats what I forgot' said Lydia, hitting her forehead 'Yeah, they moved out last week'

'Why?' asked Beetlejuice 'Where? Why didn't they tell me?'

'Well, they didn't tell me until the day before they moved, but that was my dads idea' said Lydia 'They're only one street over from us, they moved into Adam's childhood home. His parents surprised them with it, and thats why they suddenly moved, they didn't know they were going to move either' 

'Oh, can we go see them?' asked Beetlejuice 'I miss those 2 sexy beasts'

'Can you be normal for once?' asked Lydia, draining her coffee and standing up 

'No, but come on' Beetlejuice put his arms around Lydia and transported the two of them to Adam and Barbara's house. 

Barbara was sitting in her bedroom, braiding her hair back and humming to herself. It was early in the morning, but her child had been kicking her hard in the ribs all night, so she'd decided to abandon her attempt to sleep and get up with her husband. Adam was up in the attic, adding onto his model of the town. Barbara knew that he was going to spend a lot of time up there now, and she didn't know if she liked it or not. She stood up and was about to open the door when it burst open

'BABS!' shouted Beetlejuice, running through the door. Barbara screamed and stumbled backwards onto the bed, breathing heavily

'Beej, don't do that' said Barbara, putting a hand to her chest 'You scared me to death'

'Well, I could just bring ya back to life again' smirked Beetlejuice. He went over to her and gave her a gentle hug 'Its good to see you'

'Its good to see you too Beej' said Barbara. They heard fast footsteps coming down the attic stairs 'Scare Adam'

'What?' asked Beetlejuice, amazed to hear those words come out of Barbara's mouth 

'Please' said Barbara, giggling 'Kiss him if you want, he's had a cup of coffee so I won't any time soon'

'On it Babs' said Beetlejuice. He stood up and hid next to the doorway. Barbara laid her hands over her stomach an eagerly watched as Adam rushed downstairs

'Barb? Are you ok? I heard scre- AHH!' Adam was cut off by Beetlejuice jumping out from the doorway and yelling

'Hiya Sexy!' shouted Beetlejuice. Then he grabbed Adam and dipped him into a kiss. Barbara was laughing her head off and, once he'd been released from the kiss, Adam looked between the two of them

'Whats going on?' he asked, wiping his mouth

'Beej is back' said Barbara 

'Yes, well, I can see that' said Adam 'But why is he kissing me?'

'Because you are a sexy beast' said Beetlejuice, leaning in for another kiss 

'Eww, no Beej' said Adam, pushing the demon away 'Barb, aren't you gonna stop him?'

'Nope' giggled Barbara 'I said he could kiss you' Adam's eyes widened 'What? You know you can't kiss me after you've had your coffee, and Beej missed you'

'I had that coffee hours ago' sighed Adam, running a hand through his hair 'Where's Lydia?' 

'HEY ADAM!' exclaimed Lydia loudly, jumping onto the mans back and giving him the fright of his life. Adam jumped but stayed steady so Lydia didn't get hurt and fall off

'You guys have to stop scaring me' muttered Adam. Beetlejuice grinned at him and Lydia giggled, holding onto his neck tight. Barbara leant against the doorway and smiled as she watched Adam interact with Lydia. He was really good with kids, even if he didn't believe it. You could see the pure joy on Lydia's face when Adam pretended to drop her, and Beetlejuice was also watching the two of them with a smile. He walked over to Barbara 

'You imagining him with your kid?' he whispered right in her face

'Mmhmm' murmured Barbara, before coughing and turning to look at Beetlejuice 'Beej, do you ever brush your teeth or shower?'

'I'm dead babs, no need' said Beetlejuice, grinning 

'Your breath stinks' said Barbara, pulling the collar of her shirt over her mouth 'Just some advice, maybe consider brushing your teeth once in a while, since you're a different type of ghost and you actually eat'

'Thanks Babs' said Beetlejuice. He patted her on the head and walked over to Lydia and Adam 'Come on Lyd, we're going shopping, I need a toothbrush' he pulled the girl off Adam's back and dragged her downstairs. Adam glanced at them, before turning to Barbara and smiling gently 

'God your beautiful' he said, walking over to her and placing his hands on her waist 'Like, the most beautiful woman alive or dead' Barbara felt her heart melt. She put her arms around Adam's neck and pulled him closer to her ' and I love you so, so, so, much' murmured Adam. He leant in and gently kissed her 

'I love you too' said Barbara, pulling away from the kiss, hastily brushing her tears away. Adam stood back and just studied his wife's face, admiring every inch of it, every tiny detail people wouldn't normally notice. Stuff he'd noticed over their years of being together. The faded scar on her forehead from when she ran into the corner of a table when she was 2, the small eyelash that went the opposite way to the others. The way her eyes had an amazing colour to them, and that they weren't just a blue/green colour, the fact that they were actually a sea of colours. 

**CRASH**

Adam was pulled out of his thoughts by a loud sound from downstairs. He looked at Barbara, and saw her smiling 

'I wonder what they broke this time' she giggled. Adam grinned and offered her his hand 

'Lets go see' the two of them walked off downstairs, hand in hand, smiling. 


	16. Christmas

Barbara woke up on Christmas morning to her husband gently tracing circles on her stomach. She smiled at him and reached a hand out to stroke his hair. Adam turned his head around and smiled back at her

'Merry Christmas lovely' he said, moving closer to her and kissing her gently

'Merry Christmas. How long have you been up?'

'About 20 minutes' replied Adam, then he smiled happily 'the baby's been reacting to my voice, and moves its foot to touch my hand whenever I move it'

'Thats great honey' said Barbara 'Is anyone else up?'

'Dunno, wanna go check?' asked Adam. Barbara nodded and the two of them got out of bed and walked down the hall to Lydia's bedroom. The Deetz had invited them to stay for Christmas, and Adam and Barbara had gladly accepted their invitation, happy to be around their family. That day, for lunch they were going to see Barbara's family, but for now, they were spending the morning with the Deetz and had the whole evening with them. Gently, Adam pushed Lydia's bedroom door open and the two of them poked their heads inside. Lydia was sprawled out on her bed, with her head hanging upside down off the side. Quietly Barbara walked over to Lydia and gently moved her head back onto her pillow. 

'Whats goin' on?' mumbled Lydia, sleepily opening her eyes 'oh, hi Barb'

'Hi sweetie' said Barbara 'Sorry to wake you up, but the blood was rushing to your head' 

'Its ok Barb' smiled Lydia, sitting up a little 'probably best that I'm awake, saves me from waking up to him jumping on me' she laughed 'he's very excited about Christmas'

'Merry Christmas Lydia' called Adam from the doorway 

'Thanks' said Lydia 'Merry Christmas you two'

'Where's everyone else?' asked Barbara, looking over at her husband, who looked at his watch 

'Uhh, its 9.00, so Beej and Delia will be doing yoga, and Charles will either be up or in bed still' said Adam. Lydia laughed and got out of bed 

'Lets go and check' she said, sounding excited 'I really want you guys to see what presents I got for you' she took Barbara's hand and led her downstairs. They found Charles sitting by the Christmas tree, watching Delia and Beetlejuice do morning yoga together

'Merry Christmas' said Barbara, giving Charles a side hug and going to sit next to the fire

'Merry Christmas' said Charles. Delia and Beetlejuice cut their yoga session short, and looked around the room 

'Can we do presents?' asked Beetlejuice

'Sure' said Charles. He and Delia sat on the couch and watched happily as Beetlejuice and Lydia handed presents out. Adam had placed a blanket around Barbara's shoulders and was stacking more wood into the fire

'Yo, Lyd' Beetlejuice threw a present across the room at her 'Merry Christmas'

'Thanks Beej, right back at ya!' Lydia threw a present back at him. 'Oh, here Adam, Barb' Lydia handed Adam and Barbara a present, before sitting down to open hers. Adam handed the present to Barbara, who opened it

'Lydia, this is beautiful' said Barbara, looking at the scrap book she'd unwrapped 

'Open it' said Lydia shyly. Barbara gently opened the book and smiled. The first photo was of two floating sheets with the caption "no legs?!". Adam looked over Barbara's shoulder and laughed. On the next page, there was a beautiful photo of two gravestones with flowers infront of them. On the next few pages their were photos of the Maitlands together, sometimes with other members of their house. Delia and Barbara gardening, Charles and Adam drinking coffee looking half asleep in the morning. On the very last page there was one of them sitting on the swing in their new backyard, arms around each other, looking into the sunset. There was a long message underneath and by the end of it, Barbara could feel tears in her eyes. 

'Thank you Lydia' said Barbara, closing the book and looking up at the teenager 'It's beautiful' 

'You like it?' asked Lydia

'Yes' said Adam 'It'll have a very special place back home' he got up and handed Lydia a present 'Be careful, its breakable, but Merry Christmas'

'No... you guys...' Lydia gasped as she unwrapped her present. It was a beautiful vintage camera and roles of film 'Where did you find this?'

'England' said Adam

'Thank you so much' she got up and hugged the Maitlands tightly 

'Sexy, Babs, I made you this' said Beetlejuice, handing the Maitlands a roughly wrapped gift 'its not much but...' he trailed off nervously as Adam unwrapped it. Inside, there was a canvas with a beautiful drawing of Beetlejuice with his arms around each of the Maitlands

'Beej, did you draw this?' asked Barbara

'Yeah' 

'Its beautiful' said Barbara 'I didn't know you could draw'

'Delia helped me' said Beetlejuice shyly 'Do you like it?'

'Of course' said Barbara. She put the canvas down and hugged Beetlejuice 'Thank you'

'I like the present you got me too' said Beetlejuice, gesturing to the stripped sweat pants he was wearing 'Very comfy'

'You're welcome Beej' said Barbara 

'Lydia, your final present is from all of us' said Charles. He took Lydia's hand and led her over to the basement door 'We all helped set this up, and we hope you like it' he pushed the door open and turned the lights on 

'No... you guys are the best' said Lydia, walking down the stairs into her new darkroom 'Is this seriously mine?'

'If you want it' said Delia 

'Thank you so much' said Lydia, running upstairs and hugging her father tightly, before moving onto Delia, then Adam, then Barbara and finally Beetlejuice 'When did you set this up?'

'We've been doing it over the past week' said Delia 'Taking it in turns to distract you'

'Wow, I didn't realise' laughed Lydia. She smiled at everyone 'Thank you for such an amazing present'

'You're welcome Lydia' said Adam, putting his arm around Barbara and resting his head on top of hers. 


	17. Beard

All through January, Adam decided to grow his beard out. He wasn't sure why, but it certainly surprised Lydia when she saw him for the first time

'Hey Adam, Barb' said Lydia, walking through the front door of their house, using the key they'd given her 'I'm back!'

'We're in the backyard' called out Barbara's voice. Lydia wandered through the house and out into the backyard. Adam was huddled under a bunch of blankets by the backdoor and Barbara was planting more plants in her garden 

'Hey guys' said Lydia, putting her bag by the backdoor and looking between the two of them 'Uhh, Adam, where is your face?'

'In here' came Adams muffled voice, and his eyes appeared 'Sorry, I'm cold'

'Go inside' said Lydia 

'I wanted to keep Barb company' said Adam

'Well, I can do that now' said Lydia 'You go inside, and its not even that cold?'

'It is too that cold' mumbled Adam, standing up in his blankets and quickly going inside, slamming the door shut behind him. Lydia sighed and Barbara laughed at her husband

'He's always been like this' said Barbara 'He always puts me first'

'Thats sweet' said Lydia, she sat next to Barbara 'I got a history assignment today'

'Oh, what about?' asked Barbara, patting the dirt around the final plant and picking the watering can up

'Pompeii' said Lydia 'We're studying Ancient Rome'

'Hey, that sounds fun' said Barbara, putting the watering can down and standing up 'Adam and I have been there, its truly beautiful'

'Oh thank god, you can help me. Its due next week and I know I'm gonna fail' said Lydia, also standing up and walking inside with Barbara, picking up her school bag on the way. Inside, Barbara sat down on the couch and Lydia sat next to her. Barbara had her feet resting on the coffee table and she had her eyes closed 'You ok Barb?' asked Lydia

'Yeah' nodded Barbara 'Just tired' she opened her eyes and looked at Lydia 'I promise I'm fine honey, lets get started on that assignment, huh?'

**~**

Adam walked into the living room, holding 2 mugs of hot chocolate. He saw Lydia and Barbara curled up on the couch watching a video on Lydia's laptop. Quietly, he walked over and leant over the back of the couch, handing each of them their hot chocolate

'Thank you honey' said Barbara, leaning up to kiss Adam 

'Thanks' said Lydia, sipping her drink and looking at Adam, only to choke 'Y-you have a beard?' she coughed. Barbara patted her on the back and Lydia recovered 

'Oh, I forgot you didn't know' said Adam, scratching his facial hair awkwardly 'Yeah, I don't feel bothered shaving'

'I like it' said Lydia 'However you're giving me massive dad vibes' 

'Uhh, thanks?' laughed Adam. He kissed Barbara on the head and stood up 'You girls want anything? Food? Different drinks?' 

'Umm, some chocolate would be nice' said Barbara 'We have to watch a whole documentary, so we'll be here a while'

'Anything for you two' he smiled 'I'll go get that, then I'm gonna go collect more wood for the fire' 

**~**

That night, Barbara was sitting in bed, brushing her hair out after her shower, when Adam walked in and flopped down onto the bed

'Everything's locked up' he mumbled 'I'm goin' to sleep'

'Thank you' said Barbara, putting her hair brush down and smiling over at Adam 'I love you'

'Love you too' said Adam, looking up and smiling at her 'You're so beautiful' Barbara smiled and leant down to kiss him, her wet hair falling in her face. Adam brushed it aside and kissed her gently 

'I don't think I'm sleeping anytime soon' laughed Barbara, pulling away from the kiss 'Our child has decided to wake up' 

'I'm sorry' said Adam, putting a hand on her stomach 

'Don't be' said Barbara grabbing her book and glasses 'This is a dream come true for both of us, I wouldn't change it for anything' Adam smiled and lay down next to her. Barbara stroked his beard and started to read.


	18. Parent-Teacher interview

Adam and Barbara were curled up on their couch one afternoon in early February, watching a TV show. Lydia was staying with them for a week while her father and Delia were away on a business trip. It was 3.30, so Lydia was due back from school any minute. Adam glanced down at Barbara and saw that she was fast asleep. Gently, he laid her head on the arm of the couch and put a blanket over her. The door opened and Lydia sulkily walked inside

'Hi Lyd' said Adam quietly, walking over to the teen 

'Why are we whispering?' asked Lydia 

'Barb's asleep' said Adam, nodding his head in the direction of his wife 'Lets go to the kitchen, Barb made choc chip cookies' they quietly walked into the kitchen. Lydia grabbed a cookie and sat sulkily in a chair 'Whats up with you?'

'The teachers said we have parent-teacher interviews tomorrow, but dad and Delia are out of town' said Lydia 'But the teacher doesn't know that'

'Oh, well, Barb and I could go if you wanted us to' said Adam 'I know we're not your parents, but we're involved enough in your life that we can probably easily talk to your teacher' 

'You'd do that for me?' asked Lydia

'Of course, why wouldn't we?' asked Adam

'Thank you so much!' said Lydia, getting up and hugging him tightly 'Let me email my teacher in a second. Its my english teacher, Ms. Smith'

'Ok' said Adam, he stood up 'What do you want for dinner tonight?'

'Umm, I don't mind' shrugged Lydia 'surprise me' she grabbed another 3 cookies and ran off upstairs. Adam laughed and began to look through the pantry, seeing what he could make for dinner. Just as he'd decided pasta would have to do, he heard footsteps and he looked up. Barbara was leaning against the kitchen doorway, yawning and rubbing her eyes

'Oh you're up' said Adam, putting the pasta down and going over to her 'I let you sleep, I hope thats ok'

'Yeah its fine' said Barbara 'But Lydia looks really happy, what happened today?'

'Oh, she has parent-teacher interviews tomorrow, and because Charles and Delia are away, I said we could do it' explained Adam 'I hope thats ok'

'Of course' said Barbara 

**~**

The next day, after school, Lydia led Adam and Barbara to her english room, and knocked on the door. A brown haired woman with glasses opened the door and smiled at Lydia 

'Ahh, come in' she said 'Lydia, you can either sit in the back of the room or wait outside the room' 

'I'll wait in the back' said Lydia, going to the far corner of the room and pulling her headphones out. Ms. Smith gestured for Adam and Barbara to take a seat and she smiled at them 

'Firstly, thank you two so much for doing this' she said 'It could've moved this to next week, but I felt that its urgent I speak to Lydia's parents' 

'Whats wrong?' asked Barbara, glancing back at the teenager, who was typing away at something on her phone 

'Oh its nothing bad' said Ms. Smith 'I just thought that you should look at this' she handed Adam Lydia's english book. There was no work in it, only a massive story. 'I found this the other day, and its really good'

'It is' said Adam, skimming the first page 'Has she not been doing her school work?'

'Oh no, she has' said Ms. Smith 'She just always does it online, but the other day her laptop was flat, so she had to do it in her book, and I found this in the front of the book' she smiled 'I believe Lydia has talent and is a promising writer. The detail and the emotion in this story is amazing. This is way above the standard of a 16 year old, its incredible. Its so heart-felt and correct me if I'm wrong but I believe it is based on her life' 

'Umm, yeah it is' said Adam, flicking through the pages 'How long is this?'

'Nearly the whole book' said Ms. Smith 'There is one page that isn't story and thats her work from the other day'

'Wow, we had no idea Lydia had a passion for writing' said Barbara 'If I'd known, I would've supported her more'

'Well, I would definitely support her, but I think it would be better if you talked to her first, maybe with her father and step-mother too' said Ms. Smith. She smiled at the couple and stood up 'Keep the book and maybe bring it up with her at home. I do believe she has talent though'

'Thank you so much for bringing this to our attention' said Adam, standing up and helping Barbara up 'We will definitely discuss it with her'

'Thank you for coming' said Ms. Smith 'Lydia! Time to go' Lydia stood up and walked over to them, shoving her phone and headphones in her pocket 'Right, I'll see you tomorrow Lydia, and I hope to talk to you two in the future'

'You two' said Adam. They shook hands and walked out of the room. Lydia glanced at Adam and saw that he was holding her english book. 

'Adam, why do you have my english book?' asked Lydia, trying to not let the panic in her voice show

'Oh, Ms. Smith was just showing us it' said Barbara casually 

'Oh, ok' said Lydia, trying to sound cool but failing. Barbara laughed and patted Lydia on the shoulder. Lydia tried to keep her cool, but for the rest of the walk home, she was a lot stiffer in her posture, and kept on glancing back at the Maitlands, who just smiled back at her and continued walking.


	19. Family discussions

Adam and Barbara walked up the path of their old house and knocked on the door. Delia opened the door and led them inside. Barbara had been struggling to sleep all through the night, as their child had taken to kicking her in the ribs all through the night and sleeping during the day, so she was generally exhausted. As soon as she got in the front door, Barbara sat down on the couch and closed her eyes. Beetlejuice and Lydia, who were playing an intense game of snap, put their cards down and looked at her

'You ok Babs?' asked Beetlejuice 

'Hmm, yeah' said Barbara tiredly 

'You don't seem it' said Beetlejuice 

'I'm fine Beej' said Barbara, opening her eyes and looking at the demon 'Just tired'

'Umm, if you don't mind me asking, why are you guys here?' asked Lydia

'Why not?' said Barbara 'Nah, we need to have a talk with your parents, and they invited us to stay for dinner'

'Oh ok' said Lydia, satisfied with the answer 'Um, are you going to continue teaching at school this term or not?'

'I am for a while' said Barbara 'and I'll see when I want to leave, being a music teacher means my schedule is flexible' Lydia nodded and started packing the cards up

'Hey, I was still playing' said Beetlejuice

'Ok, here, pack them up yourself' said Lydia, throwing the stack of cards at Beetlejuice's face. Beetlejuice frowned and Lydia laughed. Barbara laughed lightly and closed her eyes, for once not telling the two off. 'Boy, you are tired Barb' said Lydia, dodging the cards that Beetlejuice was throwing back at her 'You didn't even tell us off'

'Mmhm... yeah. oops... uhh.. stop' said Barbara, not opening her eyes. Lydia laughed and threw cards back at the demon. Beetlejuice summoned two more packs and starting throwing them at Lydia too. Barbara kept her eyes closed and listened to the shouts of Beetlejuice and Lydia's fight.

Adam, Delia and Charles walked into the living room and found Barbara sleepily watching Lydia and Beetlejuice as they made a massive card tower. Beetlejuice waved at them happily from his spot like a child. Adam went and sat next to his wife, handing her a slice of the homemade pizza they'd been making for the past half an hour. She kissed his cheek in thanks and started eating.

'So, Lydia, can we have a talk?' asked Delia, placing plates of pizza on the coffee table and sitting on one of the couches 

'Sure, what about?' asked Lydia, putting her pile of cards down

'Um, well, your teacher found your story in your english book the other day' started Adam 'and she wanted us to talk to you about it'

'Am I in trouble?' asked Lydia

'No, the opposite' said Charles, sitting next to Delia and sipping his glass of ice tea 'She says you have talent, and believes you could go far in life'

'Really?' asked Lydia, a small smile appearing on her face 

'For sure' said Adam 'she said she'd be happy to support you, and the 4 of us' he gestured to the 4 adults in the room 'will too' Lydia grinned and grabbed a slice of pizza 

'Thank you guys so much' she said 'I'll talk to her on tomorrow'

Later that night, back at home, Adam and Barbara were getting ready for bed. Barbara had given up wearing shirts to bed, as they were all so tight, and Adam was massaging her bare shoulders. Barbara leaned into him and smiled 

'Thanks honey' she said, looking right up at him

'You're welcome sweetheart' replied Adam, kissing her lightly on the nose. 'Think you'll sleep tonight?'

'Well, the babies actually still, so I'll try' said Barbara, lying down and turning her light off. Adam smiled at her and did the same thing, wrapping his arms around her, careful to avoid contact with her stomach. Barbara sighed happily and closed her eyes, relishing the feeling that her husbands warm embrace gave her. 


	20. Fears

Adam couldn't find his wife, which was bad. Generally he let her have her own space, and respected her wishes for privacy. However, it'd been 3 hours and he still couldn't find her anywhere. He had looked everywhere in the house, twice. 'Barb?' he called her name out into the silent house 'Barbara? Honey?' he wandered upstairs and into their bedroom for the 3rd time 'Sweetheart, are you in here?'

He got no reply. Sighing, he turned to leave but was stopped when an object hit him in the back. He picked the sock up and looked in the direction where it came from. It was their wardrobe. Adam walked in to it and looked around, there was no sign of his wife. 'Barb? Honey, please talk to me' no reply 'Where are you?' Another item was thrown at him from his side of the wardrobe. He walked over to it and knelt down 'Are you in here sweetie?' 

Adam separated the shirts hanging up and found his wife sitting behind them. 'Barb, why are you in here?' Barbara made no effort to move or to answer, and just looked at him. 'Can I sit with you?' Barbara nodded the tiniest bit and Adam slid in next to her. She didn't meet his eyes, and instead looked down at the ground. Adam reached a hand out and laid it on her leg 'Whats wrong honey?'

'I'm scared' she admitted, still looking at the ground and flicking a bit of dust 'I'm just so scared'

'Scared of what?' he asked gently, although he thought he probably knew

'Giving birth' she said quietly. Adam squeezed her leg comfortingly 'Its just so scary, and we don't know what'll happen because this is new for everyone. What if I do something wrong? What if something happens? What if the baby doesn't make it? What if I don't make it? What if Lydia hates us for this? What if she never wants to talk to us again? What if Beej tries to pull a dumb prank on us and kills the baby? What if I die and leave you alone? What if I don't come back as a ghost? What if-' Adam gently put a finger to her lips, cutting off her "What If..." rant

'Sweetheart, listen to me' Barbara looked at him with tears in her eyes. Adam reached out his hands and took each of her smaller ones in his larger ones 'Barb, you're incredible. I know this may seem scary for you, heck I'm terrified, so I can only imagine how you're feeling, but I am so proud of you and I will support you through anything.' he ran his thumb over her knuckles and felt the softness of her skin 'I know this is probably extremely difficult for you, coming back from the dead and being told your pregnant and having to immediately adjust to life like this... I mean thats gotta be tough. But you've handled it like an absolute legend, and I am so so so proud of you. Prouder than you'll ever know' 

Barbara had a small smile on her face, but didn't look fully convinced. Adam shifted closer to her and held her left hand up so they could both see it 'I gave you this for a reason' he said, pointing to her engagement ring 'I gave it to you to show how much I loved you' she smiled a little more 'And we gave each other these' he tapped her wedding ring and put his hand next to hers 'As a symbol of our undying love for each other. And I think its fair to say that our love is undying' he took her small hand in his two big ones and held it tight, looking straight into her eyes 'I love you so much Barbara Louise Maitland. I love you with my whole heart, and I am so lucky to have you in my life' he kissed her knuckles 'You are the most beautiful, kind-hearted, talented, craziest, funniest, happiest, strongest person I have ever met. Please never forget that and please never change' 

Adam saw a single tear leave her eye and as it slid down her cheek, he felt his heart sink. What else could he do to make her happy? But when he looked up at her, and saw her smiling her beautiful smile at him, he smiled back 'You ok now?'

'I'm still terrified' said Barbara 'But you've made it a little better' more tears left her eyes and Adam smiled 'Also, please never use my middle name again' she giggled her adorable that Adam loved so much

'Come here Barbie Doll' Adam opened his arms up and Barbara snuggled closer to him, laying her head on his chest 'I know it may seem scary, but think of what you get at the end of it'

'Pain?' suggested Barbara 'A whole lot of pain?'

'A baby' said Adam, squeezing her extra tight 'A baby thats all yours' 

'Oh, so its not yours anymore?' giggled Barbara, 'But it still scares me. What if I'm not a good mother. What if this kid hates me? What-' Adam made sure to cut her off sooner so she didn't get herself worked up over nothing.

'Barb, does Lizzie like you?' asked Adam. Barbara nodded 'Does Lydia like you?' Barbara nodded 'Do all your students at school like you?' Barbara shrugged and nodded again 'Do you know why?' Barbara shook her head 'Its because you have this feeling around you, a feeling that just makes everyone relax. You have the feeling of welcoming and happiness that just radiates off you. Thats why everyone relaxes around you. You just give off that "mom vibe", as Lydia calls it' Barbara smiled 

'Thank you for this' she said quietly 'It helped a lot' 

'Maybe we can talk to Charles, Delia and Bell about it, see if they can ease your nerves at all' Adam suggested and Barbara nodded

'Hey Ad... I love you' said Barbara, looking up at her husband 

'I love you too my Barbie Doll' 


	21. Strays

Adam and Barbara were having a peaceful morning in bed, enjoying their final few weeks of being just the two of them before their baby entered the world. Adam had already been up and about that morning, but Barbara hadn't gotten out of bed yet, so Adam decided to keep her company. Barbara was curled into Adam's side and he was reading another book Lydia had given him. Adam had one of his arms wrapped around Barbara's shoulders and was playing with her hair. Barbara was very relaxed, and was thoroughly enjoying some quality time with her husband. However, the peacefulness didn't last much longer 

'Babs!' exclaimed a familiar voice, causing both Adam and Barbara to jump and look up, where their friendly neighbourhood demon was floating above their heads 'Sexy!'

'Whats up Beej?' asked Adam

'Lyds sent me' said Beetlejuice, floating down onto their bed and moving close to Barbara, who instead of moving away put an arm around the demon

'Whats wrong with her?' asked Adam, sitting up 

'Uhh... she's found 2 kittens' said Beetlejuice casually 'We were walking to school together and heard a meowing coming from the gutter, and these two tiny kittens were curled up there' 

'Where is she?' asked Adam, carefully removing his arm from around Barbara and standing up, going over to grab his shoes 

'End of her this street' said Beetlejuice. Adam nodded and lent over to kiss Barbara

'I'll be back in a bit, call me if you need anything and I'll keep you updated' he patted Beetlejuice on the arm and looked at the demon 'Coming or staying?'

'Staying' said Beetlejuice 

'See you guys in a bit' said Adam

'Love you!' called Barbara 

'Love you too sweetheart' said Adam, walking out the door 

'Love you!' called out Beetlejuice hopefully 

'Bye Beej!' laughed Adam, walking downstairs. Beetlejuice sighed and lent his head on Barbara's shoulder. Barbara laughed and ruffled Beetlejuice's hair slightly 

'Is he ever going to love me?' he asked dramatically, making Barbara laugh more. Beetlejuice pouted 'This is no laughing matter Barbara, its serious' Barbara laughed harder. Beetlejuice lifted his head off her shoulder and frowned at her, which only made her laugh more

'Sorry Beej' said Barbara after a while, once she'd recovered from her laughing fit. 'Want to tell me about these kittens?'

'Well, one was pure black' said Beetlejuice 'I called that one Lydia, and the other one was black and white and it sorta had stripes on it, so Lyd started calling it Beej' Barbara giggled slightly and Beetlejuice smiled 'Sexy messaged you yet?'

'He only just left' said Barbara 'Be patient'

'Being patient is boring!' groaned Beetlejuice dramatically placing his head on Barbara's shoulder again. He was looking at her stomach with curiosity and gasped when the baby kicked her hard 'Wow, what was that?'

'The baby' said Barbara 'You know they kick right?'

'Yeah, I know' said Beetlejuice 'But... does it.. y'know... hurt?'

'No' said Barbara kindly 'Only if its right in my ribs, here Beej, give me your hand' Beetlejuice held his hand out and Barbara placed it on her stomach where the baby had been kicking. Beetlejuice looked at her questioningly and Barbara just smiled. Suddenly, Beetlejuice felt a tiny foot kick against his hand. He looked up at Barbara and she saw the happiness in his eyes 'Cool huh?'

'Thats wicked Babs' he exclaimed 'You got an alien in there!' Barbara laughed and her phone started ringing 'Hello?'

 _"Hey! Uhh, so, these kittens are tiny, can Lyd and I bring them back to home and then maybe take them to the vet?"_ asked Adam 

'Doesn't Lyd have school?' asked Barbara and Beetlejuice rolled his eyes at her 

_"School can wait Barb"_ came Lydia's voice as she pulled the phone away from Adam _"As soon as you see these little sweethearts, you'll agree"_

'Hmm, we'll see' said Barbara 'I'll call your school and let them know your coming in late' Lydia agreed and said they'd see her soon. 2 minutes later, they heard the front door open and the voices of Adam and Lydia. Slowly, Beetlejuice and Barbara walked downstairs and found Adam and Lydia crouched down next to a box that had Lydia's jumper in it. Barbara looked into the box 'I thought you said there were 2'

'There were' said Lydia 'But in a nearby bush, this little darling' she pointed to a black kitten with a white spot on its neck 'was meowing like crazy to us to pick him up too'

'He and Lyd are twins' announced Beetlejuice, pointing to the other black kitten that had a smaller spot on its neck 

'We're not calling it that' said Lydia, she shivered a little. Beetlejuice snapped his fingers and a black hoodie with a sandworm badge on it appeared on her 'Thanks' 

'Your welcome' said Beetlejuice. He looked up at Adam 'So shmexy, what we doing with the cats?'

'I'll take them to the vet, get them checked out, and we'll see what happens next' said Adam 

'I wanna keep the striped one' said Lydia 'I dunno why but I feel a special connection to it'

'When is Lydia going to school?' asked Barbara 

'Umm, never' said Lydia 

'Whens best, before or after the vet?' asked Adam 'What would your parents think?'

'They don't care' said Lydia 'You guys are my parents, make a decision' Adam and Barbara locked eyes and had a silent conversation, coming to an agreement. 'So?'

'You'll find out' said Adam. He walked over to Barbara 'I'll be back sometime, take care of yourself' he kissed quickly before going over to the box and picking it up 

'Have fun' called out Barbara as they left 'I Love you!'

'Love you too' said Adam, opening the door

'I love you more!' called out Beetlejuice, except he imitated Barbara's voice, to trick Adam 

'I love you most' replied Adam and they heard Lydia gag. As soon as the front door shut, Barbara and Beetlejuice collapsed into a fit of laughter. 

'Oh my god...' gasped Barbara, looking at Beetlejuice wiping tears out of her eyes 'he believed it was me!'

'He's the sweetest most gullible person I've ever met' laughed Beetlejuice 'He's also really sexy'

'Can't disagree with you on either of those points' laughed Barbara. Then, her eyes lit up with an idea 'Lets prank Adam sometime'

'Wait, for real?' asked Beetlejuice, sitting up and looking at her with wide eyes 'You actually wanna prank him?'

'Well, I have nothing else to do, and that was so funny' said Barbara 'I need some excitement in my life'

'Lets do it Babs' grinned Beetlejuice, rubbing his hands together excitedly

Later that day, Adam returned home with the three kittens, saying that they were all perfectly healthy and could either be sent to an animal shelter, or they could keep them. As soon as school ended, Lydia ran to Adam and Barbara's house, desperate to find out about what had happened with the kittens, because when she'd texted Adam, all he said was "you'll see". When she'd walked through the front door, she saw one of the black kittens sitting on Barbara's lap and the other two playing with Beetlejuice and Adam. As soon as they finished work, Charles and Delia were bombarded with questions from Lydia asking if they could keep the striped kitten. They agreed and decided to name her (it was a girl) was Oreo. At first Lydia didn't like the name, one her father and Delia had picked, but it grew on her and soon she was in love with it. Adam and Barbara were keeping the two twin boy cats, and named them Xander and Xavier.

That night, Adam and Barbara were laying in bed facing each other, smiling at the two tiny kittens that were play fighting in between them. Yes, getting a pet hadn't been on their to do list, especially not two tiny kittens, but they didn't regret it, not one bit. 


	22. And so it begins

Barbara woke up one morning to a strange sensation in her body. It felt like a normal cramp, but more painful. She pushed it aside, not wanting to believe that she was in labour, and passed it off as Braxton hicks. However, every 20 minutes, the same pain shot through her abdomen, and she knew what was happening. But she didn't tell Adam. She knew her husband better than anyone, and knew perfectly well that he'd freak out if he knew what she was going through. When they reach 10 minutes apart, she told herself resting her hand over her tight stomach, when they reach 10 minutes I'll tell him.

Oblivious to his wife's pain, Adam was very cheerful that morning and happily got ready for work. He kissed Barbara goodbye and told her to call if anything happened, and he promised to have his phone on and with him at all times. Barbara nodded and waved goodbye to him from the front door. Then, she went back inside and sat down on the couch, turning on a show Lydia had gotten her into. The Office was distracting her well, and it wasn't until a particularly bad one hit her that she realised the contractions had reached 10 minutes apart. Sighing, she leant forward to grab her phone and started to text Adam. Just as she'd sent the message, her favourite demon appeared in a puff of green smoke.  
'Babs, Babs, Babs, Ba... you ok?' asked Beetlejuice, stopping jumping up and down when he saw the look of pain on Barbara's face. He sat next to her and looked at her helplessly as she bit her lip in pain. 'Barbara?'

'Hey Beej' she said, recovering and looking at him

'Are you ok?' asked Beetlejuice

'Yeah I guess' said Barbara

'You don't look it' stated the demon, making Barbara laugh

'Thanks Beej' she looked at him 'You sounded excited, what'd you do?'

'Oh, I thought of a good way we could prank everyone, but that can wait, I think we need to focus on you for a while' he said kindly, which surprised her a little. Barbara had noticed how far the demon had come since they met him. He'd gone from a lonely self-absorbed demon from hell that wanted to kill people, to a kind-hearted, generous, funny and valued member of their family.

'You know Beej, I'm proud of you' said Barbara, putting a hand on his shoulder 'I'm really proud of you'

Beetlejuice flushed a bright red and his hair turned a light pink 'Babs...' he said shyly, putting his head down and fiddling with his hands

'I'm serious' said Barbara 'You've come along way from when we first met you'

'Babs, Babs, as much as I love to be complimented, I think we need to focus on you for a bit' said Beetlejuice, his hair going a little green but there were still a few pink streaks in it. Barbara smiled at Beetlejuice

'Thanks Beej' said Barbara. Her phone started ringing and she picked it up 'Hello?'

 _'Barbara?!'_ asked Adam _'Are you serious?'_

'Hey honey' said Barbara 

_'Barb, are you for real?'_ asked Adam, over the phone, they could hear him calling hurried goodbyes to his co-workers and the sound of a car door opening

'Would I joke about something like this?' said Barbara, rolling her eyes slightly at Beetlejuice, who laughed a little

'I never know what to think with you' sighed Adam, they heard the car start 'Is there anyone with you?'

'Yeah' said Barbara 

'Hey Sexy!' said Beetlejuice 'Don't worry, I'll take care of your wife, just come home, I'm not good with comfort' 

'Ok, thanks Beej, see you guys soon' said Adam. The phone hung up and Barbara put it down. Glancing at the time, she looked at Beetlejuice

'Hey, can you tell me more about that prank idea?' she asked quickly before her face contorted in pain. Beetlejuice's eyes widened as he watched Barbara breath heavily and hunch over her stomach 

'Babs...' he cautiously moved closer to her and put an arm around her. He wracked his brains trying to think of things he'd seen Adam, Charles, Delia, Barbara and Lydia do to comfort one another. The only one he could think of was breathing. 'Hey, Babs, breath' he said in a surprisingly gentle tone for the demon 'Deep breaths... in... out... Babs... can you hear me?' Barbara nodded and reached out to squeeze Beetlejuice's hand with a surprising amount of strength 'Damn Babs, you're strong... right... uh... deep breaths...' 

After a while, Barbara recovered and looked at Beetlejuice 'Sorry about that' she said, releasing his hand 'You did a good job though'

'Thanks' said Beetlejuice, feeling happy that he helped her 'If you don't mind me asking... whats going on?'

'Oh right' said Barbara, giggling and leaning into the couch 'Uhh... well... these are contractions, they mean that my body's preparing to have the baby' 

'I-hold on, you're having the baby?' asked Beetlejuice, sitting up a little straighter 

'Yup' said Barbara 'Anyway, contractions are the muscles tightening as they help push the baby through my body' explained Barbara 

'But... that looked like it hurt' said Beetlejuice 'a lot'

'I did' confirmed Barbara 'hurt like hell, and I gotta keep going through that for the rest of the day, thats how babies are born, I don't want to go into detail about the rest, if you really want to know, I'm sure Delia will explain'

'Babs... wow...' trailed off Beetlejuice 'Women are freaking legends... anything I can do to help you?'

'What you did last time was really good' said Barbara 'Talking to me and attempting to distract me really helps' she glanced at her watch and sighed 'Also, as they progress, they get more painful and closer together. They could come at any momen... owww' she grimaced in pain. 

'Babs, hey, focus on my voice' said Beetlejuice, reaching out for Barbara's hand. She took it and held it tight. 'Babs, look up at me' Barbara did as she was told 'Look at my eyes... focus on them... thats all I want you to do...' he trailed off as the door opened and Adam walked inside. He saw Barbara in pain and immediately rushed over. Barbara reached out her other hand and gripped onto his. Adam mouthed _thank you_ at Beetlejuice and rubbed his wife's hand. 

'Thanks guys' said Barbara, leaning into the couch and taking a few deep breaths 

'Its alright Babs' said Beetlejuice, he stood up 'I'll leave you and Sexy to it'

'No, stay' said Barbara

'But you have to get to the hospital, don't you?' asked Beetlejuice 

'Yes, we do' said Adam 'Come on Barb'

'No' she whimpered, sinking further into the couch 'No, I don't wanna'

'Barb... honey' said Adam. Barbara frantically shook her head and Adam looked at Beetlejuice 'wanna help me out here?'

'Babs, do you want to have your kid here?' asked Beetlejuice, sitting back down. Barbara shook her head and looked between the two men sitting either side of her with wide eyes. 'Babs... please, listen to sexy, he knows whats best for you'

'I'll go' said Barbara quietly after a while, sitting up and hugging Beetlejuice tightly 'Thank you'

'You're welcome Babs, now go have a baby, I wanna meet them, 9 months is too long to wait' he walked over to Adam and kissed him on the cheek 'Love you guys!' and he vanished into thin air. Adam laughed and looked at Barbara 

'God, you're beautiful' he said quietly 

'Honey, is everything in the car?' asked Barbara 

'Yeah, shall we go?' asked Adam. Barbara nodded and the two of them, after checking that their two new cats were safe and had enough food, walked out of their front door for the last time as just the two of them. 


	23. That Beautiful Sound

Mark their doctor walked into the hospital room to see Adam and Barbara talking happily to each other. He stood at the end of the bed and coughed to get the couples attention'

'Hey guys' he said 'Well, its been a long, hard, weird 8 months, but here we are' 

'Thank god' muttered Barbara 'Do you know how hard it is being pregnant for technically over a year?' Adam and Mark shook their heads 'Well, let me tell you right now, it sucks'

'But by probably the end of today, you're gonna be parents' said Mark 'You're gonna have your very own baby.' he smiled 'Well, I have to check how far along you are, but don't let it be awkward'

'Its alright' said Barbara, taking Adams hand and holding it

'Got any names picked out?' asked Mark 

'Andrew if its a boy' said Barbara 'After my dad'

'My brothers name is Andrew' said Mark 

'And Katherine if its a girl' said Barbara 'But Kate or Katie for short'

'I love them guys' said Mark, standing up 'Well, you're at 4cm, so I'll be back in a while to check. Just do whatever you want, press the button if you need anything' Adam and Barbara nodded and went back to their conversation.

Lydia was sitting with her friends at recess when she received a text message from her father. She opened it up;  
 _"Hi Sweetheart, Come back to our house after school, Barb and Adam are at the hospital. Delia and I won't be home until the usual time but summon BJ if you want company. Have a good day xx"_

'Adam and Barb... aren't they like your second parents?' asked her best-friend May 'The Maitlands?'

'Yeah' said Lydia distractedly, looking around the schoolyard 'Have you seen Liam?' 

'Why, wanna tell him you love him?' teased May

'No' said Lydia, spotting him and standing up 'I need to tell him something'

'That you love him?' asked May, bouncing on the balls of her feet as she walked beside Lydia 'Because its pretty clear he likes you... but you two are too shy to admit it to each other'

'What? No' said Lydia. She stopped a few feet away from Liam and his friends 'If you have to know, Barbara's his older sister, and I figured I'd tell him, because who knows if he's been told' 

'Age gap much' muttered May 'But you should also tell him about your undying love for each other'

'No' said Lydia firmly. She walked over to Liam and tapped him on the shoulder 'Hey, I just wanted to show you this' she held her phone out to him and showed him the message from her father 'I didn't know if you knew'

'I... no' said Liam, slowly after reading the message 'Thanks Lydia. I think mum probably thinks its too much information for me on a school day' he looked at the time quickly 'Think we can facetime them? Annoy them a little?'

'Lets do it' said Lydia, bringing up FaceTime and hitting Adams contact. As it started ringing, she heard Mays voice in her ear.

'I'll leave you to it' she said, quoting Hamilton and running back to their other friends. Lydia sighed and turned back to the phone, which had just been answered by Adam.

Adam was sitting on a chair next to Barbara's hospital bed, both of them watching a movie on his laptop. Adam felt his phone vibrate in his pocket and looked at it.

'Its Lydia' he whispered to Barbara, who paused the movie and looked up at him. He answered it and Lydia's face appeared on the screen 'Hey Lyd!'

'Hi guys' said Lydia 'Liams here too'

'Oh wow, you guys hanging out at school together now?' asked Barbara in a teasing tone, looking at her baby brother and adopted daughter 'Anything I need to know about?'

'Barb' said Lydia and Liam took a step away from Lydia, both of them blushing 

'Just kidding, love you both, but seriously, if there's anything going on, I'm the first to know, ok?' 

'We're just friends' they said at the same time, before bursting out laughing. Adam and Barbara laughed too. They talked for a while before their conversation was cut off by the school bell ringing. 

'Sorry, we have to go' said Lydia, walking towards the building with Liam next to her 'But keep us updated, please, we have a really good teacher next, so they'll understand'

'Love you two' said Barbara

'Good luck' the two teenagers chorused and the phone call ended. 

A few hours after the phone conversation, the doctor came in and told Barbara could start pushing. It was all progressing very quickly for her, and it was a little shocking, but she didn't really care, all she could care about was the fact that soon she'd have a child. Adam was sitting kneeling next to the bed and was rubbing her arm comfortingly. As promised, they texted Lydia and Liam, and had gotten very excited messages back from the two 16 year olds. 

'I can't do this' whispered Barbara 'I can't... its too hard...'

'Barb, you can do this' said Adam, leaning forward so his lips were right next to her ear. Barbara shook her head 'Honey, you're so strong, you can do this, I believe in you' Barbara shook her head and lent her head against the pillows closing her eyes. 

'Alright Barbara' said Mark 'Next contraction I want a big push for 10 seconds... ready? Set...' Barbara pushed with all her might, squeezing Adam's hand tightly. 'Good job... we'll have this baby in no time'

'You're doing so well sweetheart' said Adam, squeezing her hand 

'This hurts so much' muttered Barbara 

'I'm sorry' said Adam, kissing her hand. Barbara smiled and lent over over to kiss him lightly, before listening to the doctors instructions. She pushed for what felt like forever, until the doctor spoke

'Alright, one big push and the head'll be out' said Mark. Barbara pushed with all her might 'Good job Barbara' said Mark 'You're crushing this'

'Good job honey' said Adam.He pushed Barbara's damp hair off her sweaty forehead and kissed it gently. 

'Ok, next contraction, big push and we should have a baby' said Mark. Barbara smiled a little, before a look of determination crossed her face and she pushed with all her might. A sense of relief washed over her and she fell back onto her pillows, closing her eyes. Through her exhaustion and pain, she felt a weight on her stomach and looked down to see a baby lying there. Gently, she reached out and stroked its cheek. The baby started wailing and Barbara let out a small sob. It was the most beautiful sound she'd ever heard. The sound she'd yearned to hear for years. 

'Barb... you did it' said Adam, leaning over to her 'You really did it, I'm so proud of you' Barbara looked up at him and kissed him gently. Then, the two new parents looked down at their new child, smiling.

'Congratulations guys' said Mark. A bunch of doctors and nurses were swarming around them, cleaning out the baby's mouth and clamping the cord 'Adam, would you do the honour of cutting you're daughters cord'

'Ok...' said Adam uncertainly, grabbing the scissors from a nurse and cutting it 'Wait, daughter?'. Barbara was gazing down at the baby with pure love and joy in her eyes. Adam handed the scissors back to the nurse and stroked his daughters cheek just like his wife had. A nurse came and grabbed the baby, going over to weigh and measure it. After being told to by Barbara, Adam followed and watched in amazement as they weighed, measured, and put hand and foot prints of the baby on a certificate, before wrapping it up tightly in a blanket and looking at Adam 

'Want to hold your daughter dad?' she asked, smiling. Adam nodded and felt his heart explode when his daughter (HIS DAUGHTER!) was placed in his arms. Barbara was laying in the bed, watching with a smile as she saw her husband interact with their child. Slowly the doctors and nurses left the room, leaving the couple to admire their daughter. Adam walked over to the bed and sat next to Barbara. Barbara sat up a little and rested her head on Adam's shoulder, the two of them studying every inch of their child's face.

'I love you' said Barbara 

'I love you too' said Adam 'You're so incredible Barbara, like, so amazing' he stroked the baby's cheek 'And she's incredible, I'm so proud of you' 


	24. Family

'She's so perfect' said Adam, looking at the baby curled up on Barbara's chest 'every little bit of her, is perfect'

'Took a long time to get here didn't it?' laughed Barbara

'Would you change it?' asked Adam

'No' said Barbara 'Not one bit. It let us meet the Deetz and Beej, yes it may have seemed hard, but I wouldn't change any of it'

'She's got so much hair' said Adam, stroking his daughters head of dark hair.

'I think she's taking after you honey' said Barbara 'Brown hair and big brown eyes, means I get a mini you' she gently nudged her husband in the arm.

'But she looks like you' said Adam 'Her face shape, her lips... its all you'

'Are we going with the name we decided?' asked Barbara, gently reaching out and touching her daughters hand, only to have the newborn wrap her tiny fingers around it.

'I think it suits her' said Adam, smiling at his wife and daughter. 'Lyd wants to come visit'

'Is she?' asked Barbara

'Not sure' replied Adam 'She wants to but I don't know if she can without Charles and Delia'

'Did you tell them?' asked Barbara

'Yeah, Delia says she finishes work early today, and she's gonna come round with Lydia, Charles hasn't replied' said Adam. He took his daughter's tiny hand in his own and studied it 'How is it possible for a human to be this tiny? It's like a doll'

'Sweetheart, you said the same thing when Lizzie was a baby' reminded Barbara

'I know' said Adam 'It's just so weird seeing a baby and knowing I helped make it'

'I did more' muttered Barbara

'I know you did' said Adam, kissing her temple 'You're a legend'

'I love you' said Barbara, yawning and leaning her head on his shoulder. Adam smiled and started gently fiddling with his daughters fingers, happy to have his two girls with him. 

'Lydia! Come here!' called out Delia excitedly as she walked into her house, closely followed by Charles. 'Lydia? We're going to visit Adam and Barbara?' that got the teenager sprinting downstairs, closely followed by Beetlejuice.

'Lets go' she said running up to them

'Shoes' said Charles. Beetlejuice snapped his fingers and Lydia's shoes appeared on her feet 'BJ, I dunno if you should come'

'Adam and Barb would want him there' said Lydia, holding the demons hand 'He's family' Charles nodded and Delia started to walk out the door. Beetlejuice and Lydia ran out the door and jumped into the car. The drive to the hospital was short, but felt like an eternity to Lydia. Finally they arrived at the hospital and Charles parked the car.

'Now, Lydia, Beej, you must understand that this is a hospital, so no silly business' the two nodded 'Also, please remember that Barbara will probably be exhausted and so you can't jump all over her, be nice'

'Yes dad' they groaned in unison, one being sarcastic, the other not. Charles laughed and the 4 of them walked into the hospital, Beej shrinking down so he was sitting on Lydia's shoulder. It was the first time Lydia had been in a hospital since her mum died, and she gripped her fathers hand tightly. Beetlejuice wasn't shutting up and Lydia had to deal with it because she didn't want to look like a crazy person talking to her shoulder. They reached the door and nocked gently. 

'Come in' called Adam. Slowly, they walked in and stood awkwardly by the doorway. Lydia was standing open-mouthed, looking at Barbara in a hospital bed eating a cheese burger. Adam was sitting next to her holding a small bundle 'Hey guys, its so good to see you'

'A cheese-burger?' muttered Beetlejuice in Lydia's ear, making her giggle 'Classic Babs'

'Did Beej not come?' asked Barbara, sounding a little disappointed and looking around

'Right here Babs' said Beetlejuice gently, jumping off Lydia's shoulder and growing to full size 'Where's mini sexy?'

'She has a name' said Barbara 

'Its a girl?' asked Delia, putting a hand to her chest 'Oh my god, congratulations' she walked over to Barbara and gave her a gentle hug. Lydia cautiously walked over to Adam and peaked over his shoulder at the baby in his arms.

'Want to hold her?' he asked. Lydia slowly nodded and held her arms out. Adam laid the baby in them and adjusted it so she was properly supporting it. 'hey, you're a natural Lyd'

'Whats her name?' asked Lydia, sounding a little choked up 

'Katherine' said Adam. Lydia gazed down at the baby in her arms and felt hot tears well in her eyes. 

The baby was beautiful, every single inch of the tiny human being in her arms was perfect. A miniature Barbara in her face shape, but the hair and eyes were all Adam. Lydia had never liked children, and when she'd found out the Maitlands were having a kid, she wasn't sure how good that'd be, but holding their daughter in her arms right now meant everything to her and she knew she'd love the baby until the day she died.

'Katherine Maitland' said Lydia slowly, trying to hide her tears 'Has a nice ring to it, good to scream across a house in anger or frustration' Lydia saw how desperate Delia looked to hold the baby, and handed Katherine back to her father, who walked over to Delia, Charles and Beetlejuice. Lydia made her way over to Barbara and gently hugged her.

'Sit down sweetie' she said, shifting to the side slightly. Lydia awkwardly sat on the bed and wiped her eyes, praying that no one had seen her tears. However, there was no hiding anything from Barbara 'Are you crying Lyd?' 

'No' sniffed Lydia 'What makes you think that?'

'Whats wrong?' asked Barbara 

'She's so perfect' said Lydia, losing her cool and bursting into tears. Barbara hugged Lydia tightly and let the young girl cry into her chest. Lydia wrapped her arms around Barbara's neck and cried for a while, before pulling herself together and looking at Barbara 'Sorry' she sniffed 

'Its alright' said Barbara, wiping Lydia's cheeks gently 'Everyone needs a good cry every now and again'

'You shouldn't have to deal with a crying teenager as well as a crying baby' said Lydia, voicing a tiny bit of her concerns.

'Oh Lydia, don't think that now we have a kid we won't care for you' said Barbara 'I promise, and you can hold me to this, I promise that I will always make time for you' Lydia smiled and hugged Barbara again, leaning her head on her shoulder as they watched Beetlejuice hold Katherine for the first time.

'She's so tiny' said Beetlejuice 'How can any human be this small? I mean, I thought Lydia was small but damn, she's tiny'

'Actually' said Charles 'Katherines a relatively big baby compared to most' Beetlejuice's eyes widened 'Lydia was tiny, but she's always been small' Lydia stuck her tongue out at her father 'But Katherine's big, Barbara did a really good job and she's actually still awake, which shocks me' Charles, Delia and Adam laughed.

Beetlejuice held one of his fingers out to Katherine and gently touched one of her tiny hands that was gripping the blanket, still wondering how a baby could be that small. He was very surprised when the baby lifted her hand up and wrapped her tiny fingers round his big one. It was at this moment, Beetlejuice knew that he'd love that kid until the end and would never let anything harm her. 

'When will you be home?' asked Lydia quietly, as she held Katherine for the last time before leaving the Maitlands to it.

'Day after tomorrow probably' said Adam 'Barb'll want to be home sooner though'

'I'll water the plants and feed the cats' said Lydia 'Don't worry, Beej will help me anyway'

'All of Barbara's 50 thousand plants?' laughed Adam 

'Yes' said Lydia 'Every last one. It'll probably end with Beej soaking me with the hose, but I promise I'll do it'

'Thank you Lydia' said Adam. Katherine started squirming and opened her big brown eyes, looking up at Lydia. Lydia stared back at the baby. Suddenly, Beetlejuice appeared over Lydia's shoulder and looked down at the baby too. Katherine yawned and closed her eyes, snuggling into her blankets. Lydia smiled and handed Katherine back to Adam. 

'We'll see you two soon' said Lydia 

'You're incorrect Lyds' said Beetlejuice, sounding a lot like Dwight from The Office 'You mean we'll be seeing you _three_ soon. Remember theres a mini Babs now' 

'You gotta think of a different nickname' said Lydia, kissing Katherine on the head and hugging Adam 'Something more creative'

'Mini Maitland' 

'No'

'Baby Babs?'

'No'

'Lets go' said Charles. Leading Lydia and Beetlejuice away. 'Bye guys!' Adam waved goodbye and the door closed. Adam walked over to Barbara and sat next to her, gently kissing her temple to wake her up. Barbara sleepily opened her eyes and looked up at Adam 

'Hey'

'Hi sweetheart' he said 'Sorry to wake you, but she's hungry' Barbara sighed but sat up and took her daughter in her arms. 'You're incredible'

'So are you' replied Barbara, closely watching Katherine to make sure she was feeding properly. Adam put his arm around Barbara and they both watched their daughter with smiles. 


	25. Welcome home

'She's such a daddy's girl' said Barbara, watching as Adam gently changed Katherine into the black and white striped onesie Beetlejuice had given them. They were using the onesie for 2 reasons. One, because it was adorable and two, because they owed the demon a favour for helping Barbara.

'Hey, she loves you two sweetie' said Adam, looking over at Barbara and smiling 'How could she not?'

'Yeah, but she clearly likes you more' argued Barbara 'And I'm fine with it. It's adorable watching you two interact, it makes my heart all warm and fuzzy' she smiled

'I feel the exact same way when I watch you with her' said Adam, picking Katherine up and putting her in the carrier. Then, he walked over to Barbara and sat next to her on the bed 'Ready for a whole lot of sleepless nights?'

'You betcha' said Barbara, faking enthusiasm and weakly pumping her fist in the air. Adam laughed and kissed her on the side of the head. 'I'm ready for anything as long as its with you'

'I love you' Adam reminded her. Barbara laid her head on his shoulder

'I love you too sweetheart' said Barbara. They sat like that for ages, enjoying each others company as their daughter slept. Then, a nurse came in and checked them out of the hospital. 

Lydia wandered through the silent halls of the Maitlands house, making sure everything was neat and tidy. As much as the teenager hated cleaning up, she wanted to make sure the house was perfect for the Maitlands. She also wanted to help them as much as possible. 

'Beej?' Lydia's voice echoed throughout the silent house 'BJ?' no reply 'Beetlejuice?' still nothing. Lydia walked upstairs and down the hall 'Where are you?'

'Lyd' Beetlejuice appeared in a flash of green and stood infront of her 'Lyd, I just found the coolest thing, come on' he grabbed her hands and dragged her to Adam and Barbara's bedroom. 

'Why are we in here?' asked Lydia, pulling her hands out of the demons grasp and looking around the room. She hadn't touched anything in their room because she felt it was private. She'd also barely been in their room, only a couple of times and only briefly. 'This is a private room Beej, I thought we taught you about privacy'

'Yeah, yeah you did' said Beetlejuice, walking towards the closet and opening the doors wide 'But look what I found behind Adam's shirts'

'Why were you in their closet?' asked Lydia, standing in the doorway 

'Cause they smell like him' said Beetlejuice. 'Look-' he was cut off by a door opening downstairs and the voices of the Maitlands.

'Get out of there now' hissed Lydia through gritted teeth. She walked out the room and downstairs, careful to be quiet as to not wake the baby. Adam and Barbara looked up at Lydia and smiled. Lydia quickly walked across the room and hugged Barbara tightly but also gently. Barbara hugged her back.

'I missed you Lyd' said Barbara, releasing Lydia from the hug and looking at her. Lydia had changed a lot from the girl they'd met a year ago. She had grown more confident, and looked older, but happier. 'Sorry our movie night got cancelled, I dunno when we'll be able to have it'

'Oh it doesn't matter' said Lydia 'There's a baby now that I can spoil' she walked over to the carrier Adam was holding and looked inside 'Can I hold her again?'

'Sure' said Adam, he walked over to the couch and set the carrier down on it. Lydia sat next to it and Adam gently placed Katherine in her arms. Lydia smiled and settled into the couch, happy to be holding her "little sister" again. 

'Where's Beej? asked Barbara, sinking into the pillows on the couch. 'You two are practically inseparable' 

'Oh he's upstairs smelling Adams shirts' said Lydia 

'Uhh... what?' asked Adam, standing up and walking over to the stairs

'Yeah, he said he found something cool' said Lydia 'I didn't see it though, came to see you guys instead'

'Oh I know what he's found' said Adam. He walked off upstairs to find Beetlejuice. Lydia looked down at Katherine and noticed the babies big brown eyes staring up at her. Lydia gently smiled at her and used one of her fingers to stroke her soft cheek. Katherine reached a hand out and grabbed onto it. This made Lydia smile even more. 

Barbara was watching this interaction with a smile on her face. Lydia didn't strike her as a person that liked babies or kids, but after seeing her with Katherine, Barbara wondered why she'd ever thought that. Lydia was a natural and Barbara could tell her daughter was relaxed with her. 

Lydia looked at Katherine and saw the tears welling in her eyes. 'Uhh... Barb...' said Lydia, panicking slightly 'Barb I think she's upset....I swear I didn't hurt her...' Barbara sat up 'She's definitely upset and I dunno what I did wrong' 

'Oh Lydia don't worry' said Barbara, reaching over and grabbing Katherine 'She's just hungry'

'Oh thank god' said Lydia, flopping back onto the couch and letting out a sigh of relief 'I thought I'd done something to upset her and I couldn't think of what' she giggled slightly 'I thought she didn't like me'

'Thats silly honey' said Barbara, rocking Katherine slightly and patting her lightly on the back 'She loves you, I can tell' Lydia closed her eyes and Barbara tapped her on the knee 'I've got to feed her now. I can go somewhere else if you like'

'Oh no stay' said Lydia 'This is your house and I won't watch if you don't want me to'

'Do whatever you like sweetie' said Barbara 'Just make sure Beej doesn't come down cause who knows what he'll say' they sat in silence for awhile while Katherine got used to feeding and then Barbara looked at Lydia 'So, hows school going?'

'School sucks' said Lydia 'Why do they always give us a thousand things to do and then tell us to also remember to take time for ourselves and rest properly, like bitch, I can't do all that and what you want me to do' 

'Language' said Barbara lightly, making Lydia roll her eyes. 'I understand Lyd. It was the same for me and Adam when we went there. All schools are the same, but you'll get through it, I promise' Lydia made a noise and there was a crash from upstairs. Barbara laughed 'What do you think they've broken now?'


	26. Life

Katherine had only been in the world a few months but had bought so much joy to everyone she met. Katherine was her parents everything, their pride and joy. Barbara was absolutely loving being a mother, and didn't care that she wasn't getting any sleep, having a baby was all that mattered to her. Katherine was Adam's little girl. When she was fussing, Adam was the only one who could properly calm her down. Barbara loved watching the two of them interact, it made her really happy. 

Lydia was starting to go to the Maitlands after school again, after giving them a few months privacy, and would always spend time with Katherine before doing her homework. Adam would sit with her at their kitchen table once he got back from work and they'd work through her homework together. When Adam wasn't home or was busy, Barbara and Lydia would sit in the living room, using the coffee table to set her books and laptop on, while they sat on the couch with Katherine. After she'd finished, or gotten sick of it, Lydia would pack her homework up and go with Adam and Barbara on a walk around the neighbourhood, where they'd drop her off at her house before heading back to their own. 

On the weekends, mainly Sundays, Delia, Charles, Lydia and Beetlejuice would meet up with the Maitlands somewhere. Whether it was at one of their houses or a local park, they'd meet up every Sunday, sometimes Saturday, and spend some quality family time together. Delia and Charles made sure they looked after Katherine for at least half an hour, usually more, to let the Maitlands have some down time. They also loved Katherine a lot and wanted to make sure the child felt loved. Then, on Sunday evenings, the family of 7 would generally head back to the Deetz house for a big dinner, which usually ended with Lydia falling asleep on the couch with Katherine in her arms and leaning against either Adam or her dad (or sometimes both).

Beetlejuice spent every available moment during the day with Katherine. Entertaining her with his colour changing hair (which he'd learned he could change at will) or summoning things to make her laugh. While Adam was at work, Beetlejuice would keep Barbara company, (the two had come surprisingly close) and let her teach him new things about how "breathers" worked, or how to look after a baby. Beetlejuice was probably the closest with Katherine, after her parents, and would call her Katie Bear a lot (which everyone found adorable). 

All in all, life was great for the Maitlands. They couldn't be happier with their new life. They had a perfect 11 months with their daughter and were approaching her first birthday when late one night, Barbara asked her husband a question.

'Hey Adam?' asked Barbara, as she walked out of the bathroom and stood at the end of their bed, looking at her husband who was reading.

'Yes sweetheart?' he said, putting his book down and looking at her over the top of his glasses. She jumped onto the end of the bed and crawled towards him, pouncing onto his chest when she got close enough. He smiled at her and took his glasses off, putting them to the side with his book. 'What's up honey?'

'Wanna have another kid?'


	27. Truly amazing

Lydia opened her phone up and saw a message from Barbara. _'Can you come over, Katie's driving me up the wall. She just wants to see you. Adam's no help either. Finally got her down for a nap but when your schools finished she'll be up'_ Lydia laughed and saw that she had 5 minutes before her next zoom lesson. She quickly phoned Barbara. 

'Hey Lyd' said Barbara tiredly, picking up the phone 'How are you?'

'Sick of school. I have one more lesson today but then I'll come over. Do we still have to social distance with you? Or can I hug Katie, because it'll be hard to stop her from hugging me' Barbara laughed lightly 

'I think its ok if you hug us' said Barbara 'We see you so often anyway'

'I'll wear my mask though, I wanna protect you'

'Oh Lydia you don't need to once you're inside' said Barbara 'I'm not worried about you at all'

'Are you sure?' asked Lydia 'I figured it'd be better if I did because you're pregnant and all...' she trailed off 'How are you by the way? Holding up?' 

'Yeah' said Barbara. 'This morning was so fun because we did our weekly zoom with all the grade 1 kids and it was so good to talk to them again' Lydia heard Adam call out to her from across the house 'I'd better go Lydia, my husband needs help. Come round whenever, we're home!' she sighed 'Bye!'

'Bye Barb, take care' Lydia hung up the call and reluctantly joined her Maths zoom class. 

Barbara walked into the garage and saw Adam standing by his latest project, restoring a couple of old chairs. 

'Hey honey' she said, leaning against the doorway and looking at him 'whats up?'

'Oh I was wondering if I should wait to use the sander if Kates asleep' 

'Yeah, finally, took forever' said Barbara. She walked over to Adam and looked at the chairs on the work bench 'These are coming along nicely, good job' 

'What's wrong?' asked Adam. Barbara looked up at him in surprise.

'What do you mean?' asked Barbara, trying to sound a bit more cheerful, but Adam saw straight through it. He walked over to her and looked at her straight in the eyes.

'Barb, I know you. I can tell when somethings upsetting you. Please tell me whats bothering you' she sighed in defeat.

'I just don't feel like a good mother' she said. Adam put his hands on her shoulders and pulled her closer. 

'What makes you say that honey?' asked Adam. As far as he was aware, Barbara was a wonderful mother. Barbara sighed and lent her head on his chest. Adam rested his chin on her head and closed his eyes.

'I'm so stressed by this whole pandemic and the whole quarantine thing. We just got our lives back when we're back stuck inside this dumb house with no clear instructions on what to do next. And our president isn't helping the matter' she sniffed a little and turned so her face was hidden in the crook of his neck. Adam rubbed her back and gently rocked side to side, calming his wife the same way he calmed his daughter. 

Slowly Barbara stopped sniffing and she looked up at him. 'I'm sorry' she wiped her eyes 'You shouldn't have to comfort me like a baby'

'Barb, you have every right to cry' said Adam, looking down at his wife and brushing a strand of hair out of her face. 'This is a hard time for everyone. You are doing so well, coping with all this and I am so proud of you.' he kissed her forehead 'I'm sorry for not helping you with Kate and spending so much time out here. I know she can be a handful and its unfair of me to have left you to cope with her as well as your school kids' 

'Oh Adam I don't mind' said Barbara. 'I know this makes you happy and keeps you calm. Thats why I let you do it.' Adam smiled at her. 

'You're amazing' he said, pressing another kiss to her forehead 'Truly amazing'

'We'd better go back inside, Lydia's coming over soon' they intwined their hands and walked back into the main part of their house. Barbara kissed his hand and started to walk towards the kitchen only to stop and turn to look at her husband, who had whistled at her. 'What?' she asked, flicking a bit of hair over her shoulder and looking at him.

'You're just so damn gorgeous' said Adam 'Specially when your pregnant. The bump makes you even more beautiful'

'Go get changed out of your sweaty work stuff' laughed Barbara. Adam smirked and pulled his shirt off. Barbara felt her breaths quicken at the sight of his abs and arm muscles.

'Like what you see?' he asked.

'Mmhmm' said Barbara, walking over to him and putting a hand on his chest 'You should consider going shirtless more often'

'Whatever you want' Adam took her into his arms and dipped her into a kiss. Barbara smiled and once he'd set her up on her feet again, went up on her tip toes to kiss his nose. 

'Now go, before Lydia gets here' she laughed.

'Yes ma'am' he fake saluted her and walked off upstairs. Barbara grinned at him and went to go prepare afternoon tea. 


	28. Back together again

'I haven't been in here for ages' said Barbara as she walked through the doorway of her old house.

'It's been too long' said Delia

'Dumb covid' said Lydia, walking downstairs. 

'Lydia!' said Barbara

'Hey Barb' said Lydia, running down the rest of the stairs and stopping a few meters away from Barbara 'Can I hug you?'

'C'mere you' Barbara pulled Lydia into a tight hug. 'Happy Birthday'

'Thanks' said Lydia, hugging her back 'I've missed you guys'

'We've missed you too' said Barbara. Then, Adam walked in with Katherine asleep in his arms. 'She managed to fall asleep during the walk over here' said Barbara. Delia laughed and Adam walked over to Lydia

'Happy Birthday' he said, giving her a half hug 

'Thank you' said Lydia. 'Can I take her?'

'Sure' he gently transferred his sleeping daughter to Lydia's arms and went to hug Delia. Lydia smiled at Katherine and looked at the Maitlands.

'Dads on a work call, but it should be over soon. Want to come into the backyard?' everyone nodded and walked outside. The backyard was bathed in sunlight but there was a bit that was shady and they all sat down there. 'So, how are you guys?'

'We're actually pretty good' said Adam, linking his hand with Barbara's and squeezing it a little 'Barbs been an absolute angel, letting me get on with my woodwork while she online teaches and looks after Kate. I couldn't be more thankful for her' he smiled at his wife and kissed her. 

'You two are just too darn cute' said Lydia, sitting back in her chair and letting Katherine curl up against her chest, completely unaware she was sleeping on her favourite person in the world.

'How have you guys been?' asked Barbara 

'Charles is always in his office' sighed Delia 'But I understand. Most nights though, before dinner we drag him out and force him to spend a little time with us'

'Beej pops in and out' said Lydia 'He's spending more time in the Netherworld because its getting a little hectic with all the people dying. He said he'd drop round today though' 

'How are you Delia?' asked Adam

'Oh I'm good' said Delia 'I zoom call with many people and we just chat for hours. It helps them relax so I'm fine with it.' she looked at her watch 'Charles should be done by now, I'll go check' she got up and left. Lydia looked at the Maitlands

'I miss having you two around' she said 'I still find myself going up to the attic, only to remember just as I open the door to the empty, abandoned, dust filled space.' she sighed and shook her head, forcing a smile 'Can we wake Katie up? I wanna talk to her'

'I think thats fine' said Adam, looking at his wife for confirmation. She nodded and Lydia smiled. 

'Hey, Katie...' she gently called as she rubbed the one year olds back 'Katie Boo... its time to wake up sweetheart...' slowly the child woke up and saw Lydia.

'Diya!' she said sleepily but happily, hugging Lydia tightly. 

'Kate, remember what day it is for Lydia?' asked Barbara

'...Birth-day' said Katherine

'And what do we say to people on their birthdays?' prompted Adam

'Happy Birth-day Diya!' she said, hugging her again

'Thanks Katie' said Lydia, holding the one year old close 

'She's been practicing' said Adam proudly 'she wanted to surprise you' 

'Well I love it' said Lydia, kissing Katherine on the cheek and mouthing to the Maitlands ' _She's so cute_ '. In return for her kiss, Katherine gave Lydia one too. Adam and Barbara watched this exchange between their two daughters with a smile. 

A little while later Charles and Delia came outside and Katherine tried to slide off Lydia's lap to go say hi to them. 'Can she walk?' asked Lydia, looking at the Maitlands

'Yeah' said Barbara 'Just make sure she's balanced and she'll be fine' Lydia did as Barbara said and gasped when Katherine walked, perfectly unassisted to Charles and fell into his arms, hugging him. 

'When did she start doing that?' asked Lydia 

'Couple of weeks ago' said Adam 'Barbara was sitting in the corner of the garage, watching me work, with her when suddenly she told me to stop and turn around. Kate was standing up on her own and took a tentative step towards me and just kept going. She loves to walk but if she wants to go somewhere in a hurry she'll crawl'

'I can't believe it' said Lydia 'I know she was trying to walk but I didn't know she had'

'Yeah... sorry about that' laughed Barbara. A comfortable silence fell about the group and they all just enjoyed each others company for a moment. Barbara lent into Adams side and sighed with a smile 'This feels so normal'

'It does, doesn't it' said Charles, also smiling 

'We were thinking' said Adam 'The weathers warming up and our towns doing fine for Covid. Do you guys wanna come over one day and just spend a day together and like have a pool day?'

'Pool day?' asked a gravely voice 'I'm in'

'Beej, you came!' said Lydia, jumping up and throwing herself at the demon, hugging him tightly

'Of course I did scarecrow, why wouldn't I?' he asked. Then he pulled away and looked her up and down 'Y'know, I think you've grown'

'Really?' asked Lydia, a look of pure happiness on her face

'That or I've shrunk' said Beetlejuice

'I wouldn't be surprised if you had' laughed Lydia. 

'I agree with him' said Charles 'I do think you've grown' Lydia grinned proudly. Adam and Barbara smiled at Lydia, but turned their heads when they heard their daughter shriek. Only to see Beetlejuice hugging her tightly. Barbara interlaced her fingers with Adams and leant a head on his shoulder, enjoying being able to fully relax for the first time in months.

They hadn't been able to have a moment of pure relaxed happiness since the whole pandemic and lockdown happened. Having a one year old, a very active one year old, meant they had to be alert at all times, making sure she didn't injure herself. Then there was the fact that they both still had to work too. The weekly zoom lessons had turned into twice a week and Barbara had to be constantly checking her emails and replying to them because she knew parents needed teachers support more than ever before. Adam spent most of his time out in the garage, restoring old things or taking orders for new ones. Woodworking had always been a way for him to calm down, but he felt bad that he was leaving his wife to look after their very very energetic daughter.

Then there was the fact that Barbara was also pregnant. They had started trying for a baby in February and they had been lucky enough to conceive not long after they started. However, once the pandemic hit, everything got a whole lot more complicated. No one knew when it was going to end, and the situation in America was the worst in the world. They worried for their daughter and unborn childs safety and prayed that the situation couldn't get any worse. Their town was ok and covid free. But it didn't help that Adam's family was stuck over in England, which meant they couldn't see them at all, only over facetime calls, which were rare since they were both busy familys. 

'Woah Babs' said Beetlejuice, as he made his way round the small circle 'You're getting big'

'Gee, thanks Beej' she said dryly 'I hadn't noticed'

'Really? How could you- oh... that was sarcasm' he smiled 'Sorry, its been so long'

'It has' said Barbara, extending her arms up for a hug. Beetlejuice obliged and lent down to hug her.

'How are things in the Netherworld?' asked Adam, also hugging the demon 

'Busy' said Beetlejuice, sitting next to Lydia and having Katherine crawl onto his lap 'Very busy'

'I bet' said Charles, taking a sip of his drink 'How are you handling it?'

'We've created a seperate room where we send all the covid victims, and at the end of the day we tell them whats going on. And then send them off to their appropriate places. Then it all happens again the next day and the next day and the next' he sighed

'Mama' said Katherine, sliding off Beetlejuice's lap and walking over to Barbara. Beetlejuice mouthed ' _she's walking?!_ ' to Adam, who laughed and nodded. 

'Yeah sweetheart' Barbara picked her daughter up off the ground and sat her on her lap. 'Whats up?'

'Hungry' she said, pointing to her stomach. Delia laughed and handed the child a small chocolate cupcake. 

'What do you say?' asked Barbara

'Thank you' said Katherine with a grin, showing her tiny baby teeth

'You're welcome sweetheart' said Delia. She looked at Adam and Barbara 'Any idea's when you wanna have the pool day?'

'We're not fazed' shrugged Adam 'Any times fine for us.' 

'How about tomorrow?' suggested Barbara

'I actually have a day off tomorrow' said Charles 'And there's no school' 

'Tomorrow it is' said Adam 'Beej you in?'

'Sure thing' he said 'Miss A can live without me for one more day'

'I can 't wait!' said Lydia. She looked at her four parents and smiled 'Can we do presents now?' 

'Of course' said Charles. 'I think ours is the best one'

'No ours' said Barbara

'No, all you suckers are wrong. It's mine!' said Beetlejuice, using his powers to levitate his present into Lydia's lap, making everyone laugh. The rest of the day was filled with laughter and happiness and it allowed the strange and unusual family of 7 to believe, just for a moment, that there was no world pandemic and that they were just a normal family having a birthday party for their much loved daughter, Lydia. 


	29. Pool day

"Canonball!" yelled Beetlejuice as he ran and jumped into the pool, splashing everyone else

"Beej!" laughed Lydia, holding her hands up infront of her face in an attempt to block the water. Beetlejuice emerged onto the surface of the water and looked at Lydia.

"Come on in Lyd" he said "Its really nice"

"Oh I dunno" said Lydia, edging away from the pool as Beetlejuice swam towards her. "I think I'll just wait for a while- AHH!" Beetlejuice had summoned her with his powers and threw her into the deep end of the pool. 

"Ha. Gotcha Lyds" said Beetlejuice, smirking at the teenager who had broken the surface of the water spluttering

"Right, thats it" Lydia pulled herself out of the water and walked round the edge of the pool until she was behind Beetlejuice "Incoming!" she yelled and jumped right behind the demon, splashing him. 

"So thats how you wanna play?" asked Beetlejuice. He splashed Lydia, making her splash him back. 

"Don't kill each other" yelled Barbara from the side of the pool where she was reading

"You got it Babs!" shouted Beetlejuice, splashing Lydia again. Barbara shook her head and returned to her book. So far it'd been fairly relaxed day. The Deetz had come over early and the family was enjoying some quality time together. Adam and Charles were sitting on a rug on the grass with Katherine, building a block tower with her. Delia was asleep on her front, probably getting burnt, but she didn't care. Barbara was on a chair reading a gardening book wearing a big floppy sunhat to block the light and heat. Lydia had been sneakily taking photos of everyone for a secret photo album she was making, but when Beetlejuice had started splashing water around, she's decided that it was best to keep the camera safe inside its case and under Barbara's chair. 

Barbara was just turning the page of her book when she heard giggling and looked up to see Beetlejuice summoning a ball of water from the pool and making it hover over Delia's sleeping form. She raised an eye brow at the pair from under her hat, and they just grinned at her back. 

"Please?" asked Lydia "Just this once?"

"I haven't seen what you're doing" said Barbara, raising her book higher up 

"What?" asked Beetlejuice

"I have no idea what your doing or planning to do" said Barbara, grinning behind her book. 

"Thanks Babs" said Beetlejuice. Barbara watched from over the top of her book as Beetlejuice let the water fall onto Delia. The former life-coach sat up and looked around and could only see Barbara's eyes poking over the top of her book from under her sunhat.

"Barbara, any idea who did this?" asked Delia, taking her hair out of the bun it was in and squeezing it out. Barbara shook her head and disappeared behind her book, failing to hide her giggles. Lydia and Beetlejuice had to emerge from under the water for air (well Beetlejuice didn't need to but he didn't want Lydia to take all the blame). "You two!" said Delia, spotting the two 

"Hi Delia" said Lydia with a smile "oh, decided to take a dip?" 

"No" said Delia "I think you two did something to me" 

"What us? No..." said Beetlejuice. Delia raised her eyebrows and Beetlejuice laughed "Yeah ok it was us"

"I knew it" said Delia. She sighed and looked over at Barbara, who was still hiding behind her book "Barbara, want to come for a swim?"

"Oh I think I'll just stay here" said Barbara, lowering her book and looking at Delia 

"Please Barb" said Lydia, looking at Barbara from the edge of the pool. Barbara sighed and put her book down. "Yay" cheered Lydia. Barbara walked over to the pool and squatted by the edge

"You guys want food?" she asked 

"I want you to come swimming" said Lydia. She sighed and looked at Barbara "Y'know, if you weren't pregnant I'd pull you in right this second"

"Well, lucky for me" said Barbara. Beetlejuice grinned cunningly and raised his hands out of the water. "Beej, don't think about it" said Barbara, standing up and backing away.

"He's not allowed to, but I am" said a voice. Barbara turned around and walked into her husband. He scooped her up bridal style and walked over to the shallow end and gently threw her, not too hard to harm the baby, and Beetlejuice clapped.

"Woo! Go sexy!" said Beetlejuice. Barbara emerged from under the water and glared at Adam 

"Really?" she asked 

"You were being boring honey" he shrugged. Charles sat on the edge of the pool with Katherine on his lap. Delia sat next to him and gently swung her feet on through the water.

"Well, for that, I'm giving Lydia and Beetlejuice permission to do whatever to you" she kissed him on the cheek and climbed out to sit next to Charles. 

"What? Barb? No" said Adam. Lydia smiled and pounced on Adam. 

"Hey Delia, Charles hasn't gone swimming yet" said Barbara. 

"Oh you're right Barbara" said Delia 

"Nope" said Charles "I'm holding a baby" 

"I'll take her" said Barbara, leaning over and grabbing her daughter. Delia grinned and shoved Charles into the pool without a seconds hesitation. "C'mon, lets go get food, before they try to do anything else to us" said Barbara. Delia nodded and the two of them quickly walked inside the house. Barbara set Katherine onto the kitchen counter and looked at Delia, the two women breaking into a fit of giggles.

"Thats was so funny" said Delia. 

"It was" agreed Barbara "It was so smooth the way you just pushed Charles in without a seconds hesitation" 

"Funny" said Katherine

"Yes it was bunny, wasn't it?" said Barbara kissing her daughter on the head and going over to the cupboards, grabbing 6 glasses. "Delia, can you go to the fridge and grab either the ice-tea or lemonade" 

"Which one?" asked Delia

"Don't mind, whichever you want" said Barbara "or both"

"I'll do both. Adam and Charles are fussy" Delia grabbed both jugs and brought them over to the counter. Barbara thanks her and grabbed 2 sippy-cups, turning to her daughter.

"Which one?" she asked 

"Beej!" she said, pointing to her favourite black and white striped one with a green straw. 

"How did I know" laughed Barbara. She poured some apple juice in before watering it down with water.

"They're probably going to get revenge on us when we go back out" said Delia

"Not if we have important stuff in our arms" said Barbara. She handed Katherine the cup "Can you be a big girl and hold this?" Katherine nodded and happily started sucking on the straw. "Can you take the jugs? I'll take the glasses and Katie"

"Good idea" said Delia, picking up the 2 jugs and walking out with Barbara. They came into view of the pool and saw a full on water fight going on. It looked like Lydia and Beetlejuice against Charles and Adam. "Guys! Drinks!" called out Delia. The water stopped flying and they looked up at her

"What is it?" asked Lydia, brushing her hair out of her face 

"We have lemonade and ice-tea" said Barbara, setting the glasses on the table and adjusting Katherine on her hip. The 4 people scrambled out of the pool and walked towards them. 

"Whats she having?" asked Adam, kissing Barbara and pouring himself a glass of ice-tea. 

"Apple juice!" said Katherine 

"Beej drink it slowly" said Delia, watching as Beetlejuice chugged his glass of lemonade and then let out a huge burp, making Delia pull a face and Katherine laugh.

"Gross" muttered Barbara 

"You may not appreciate my talents" said Beetlejuice "But your daughter does"

Lydia walked over to Barbara, still dripping wet, and extended her arms out for a hug. "Hug Barb?" she asked 

"No thanks" said Barbara, backing away slightly. Lydia took a few quick steps forward and wrapped Barbara up in a tight, very wet hug. "Really Lydia?" asked Barbara 

"You like hugs" said Lydia. Barbara laughed and lifted her hat off her head. 

"You're right, I do. But I prefer them when they're not soaking wet" she placed the hat on Lydia's head, the floppy brim falling right over her eyes. "Hey, you look cute in that hat" 

"Barb" Lydia groaned, but was secretly very pleased with wearing the hat. 

"Smile Lyd" said Charles. He snapped a photo of her on his phone and chuckled when she frowned. "Don't be mad, you look pretty" 

"Hmm" said Lydia. She looked at Katherine, who was happily sat in Adam's arms playing with his ear. "Can Katie come swimming?" 

"Sure" said Barbara. "You can look after her if you want, just don't take her too deep and no splashing" 

"Sure" said Lydia. She went over to Adam and grabbed Katherine before grabbing Beetlejuice by the arm and dragging him away from the lemonade he was still chugging and towards the pool. Barbara went over to Adam and put her arms around his neck, laying her head on his shoulder. He smirked at her and lifted her up bridal style. 

"Adam!" she shrieked. He smirked and walked over to the pool "Adam, put me down"

"Ok" he knelt down by the deep end of the pool and lowered her into the depths of the water. She was submerged and Adam slid into the water. Barbara emerged and started treading water

"Adam" she scowled "Thats not funny"

"Oh but it is" yelled Lydia, from where she was playing with Katherine and Beetlejuice.

"Is it now?" asked Barbara. "Delia, Charles, come on" she and Adam locked eyes and swam down to Lydia. Beetlejuice handed Katherine to Barbara and held Lydia so she couldn't escape. 

"Guys" Lydia realised what was going on when Adam lifted her out of the water and over to Charles. Delia came over to Barbara and took Katherine onto her lap. Charles took Lydia's arms and Adam took her legs. The two men got to the far end of the pool and started swinging her back and fourth. "No! Fathers! Stop!" shrieked Lydia. "Ahh!" she yelled as she was flying through the air and into the middle of the pool. 

"You guys..." she emerged from the water and looked up at her two fathers "suck" she locked eyes with Beetlejuice and yelled "Beej, get 'em" and with one flick of his fingers, both Adam and Charles went flying into the water. 

The rest of the afternoon, the family played in the pool and had a blast, completely forgetting there was a global pandemic going on. 


	30. Princess tea party

"Mama!" Katherine walked into Barbara's bedroom, where she was sitting planning out lessons for her students. Maybe the only good thing about covid was the fact that she could still work even after she'd had the baby, which could be any day now. 

"Hey sweetheart" said Barbara, she looked at her daughter and saw that she was carrying their cat Xander and that his twin brother Xavier was following looking at Katherine in curiosity. "Oh, did you find Xan?"

"Kitty!" said Katherine. Xander's ears went flat onto his head and Barbara chuckled. She climbed off the bed and walked over to Katherine

"How about we leave kitty alone" she freed her cat from the 1 year olds clutches and kissed him on the head. Xander licked her nose lightly and Barbara smiled. She placed the cat on the ground and he ran off, being chased by his brother. Katherine walked over to Barbara and held her hands up.

"Up?" she asked sweetly. Barbara smiled and swung the child into her arms. "Yay" giggled Katherine. 

"Wanna go see Dada?" asked Barbara "Tell him to come play with us?"

"Yeah!" said Katherine. Barbara sat Katherine on her right hip and headed downstairs. Katherine was developing faster than a normal child because she was born a year after she was conceived. Adam and Barbara both liked this but also were sad because their little girl was growing up so fast. 

"Adam?" called Barbara. She walked into the garage and found him sanding down a table. Adam turned around and smiled at the sight of his wife and daughter.

"Hey guys" he said, putting the sand paper he was using to get the finer details down and walking over to them, giving them each a kiss on either the lips or cheek. "How're my girls doing?"

"Katie wanted to see if her dada wanted to play with us?" said Barbara 

"Pwease?" asked Katherine. 

"Only for you princess" said Adam. Katherine showed them her toothy grin and held her arms out to her father. Adam lifted her onto his shoulders and walked into the house. "What are we playing today?" asked Adam 

"Princess tea party" said Katherine. Barbara held her hand out for a high-five. 

"Good idea honey"

"Dada you wear the crown" said Katherine "Mama you wear the tiara, I wear Cinderella's crown" 


	31. One year ago

"G'morning honey" said Adam sleepily, rolling over to look at his wife, who was also half asleep, watching him through half closed eyes "Sleep well?"

"As well as a 7 month pregnant woman can" said Barbara, she smiled at him "You know what day it is?"

"2 years since we died and 1 year since Beej brought us back to life" said Adam, he shuffled closer to her "look how much has changed"

"Yeah" said Barbara, she pushed his hair back and rubbed her thumb along his forehead "You've managed to get even more handsome" 

"And you've got even more beautiful every time I see you my dear" he glanced up at the time and sat up "Katie'll be awake, I'll go get her" he kissed her forehead and left the room. Barbara smiled as he left and got her phone off her bedside table. The photo she'd set as her lock screen made her smile. It was a selfie Lydia had taken a few weeks ago and somehow she'd managed to get every member of their family in it, including all 3 cats and Beetlejuice!

"Go say good morning to Mama" came Adam's voice. Barbara put her phone to the side and looked up as her daughter crawled across the bed covers to get to her. Barbara opened her arms up and Katherine tumbled into them. 

"Mama!" she said happily. Barbara kissed her forehead and hugged her tightly 

"Hello my angel" said Barbara. Adam climbed back into bed and snuggled closer to his wife and daughter. Barbara sat up a little and Katherine crawled onto her father's lap. "So, what are we doing today?" asked Barbara, laying her head on Adam's shoulder and looking down at Katherine. 

"We're going to the park, remember?" said Adam

"Oh yeah" giggled Barbara, she saw the happiness in Katherine's eyes "Wanna go to the park sweetie?" Katherine nodded her head so furiously that she fell forward. Adam gently caught her and set her straight. 

"I'm taking that as a yes then" he laughed. Katherine crawled over to Barbara and sat on her lap. Barbara reached out and stroked her daughters dark hair. Katherine leant forward and kissed Barbara's stomach gently. Then the 1 year old laid her head down and smiled at her father, who smiled back. 

"Diya!" exclaimed Katherine, wriggling out of her mothers arms and walking towards the teenager in the park. Lydia ran to meet her and picked her up. You could tell she was grinning from under her mask. 

"Hey Katie bear" she said

"Diya, I missed you" said Katherine, placing her head on Lydia's shoulder. Lydia smiled and stroked the 1 year olds shoulder

"I missed you too" said Lydia. She walked over to Adam and Barbara. "Hey guys, is this yours? I think you lost it"

"You can keep her" laughed Barbara, putting a hand over her stomach "We got another on the way" they all burst into laughter and Katherine lifted her head up, scrunching her nose in confusion and tilting her head to the side. 

"She looks so much like you when she does that" said Lydia, looking at Barbara. Adam nodded in agreement. Barbara smiled and looked at Lydia's mask. It was black and white striped. 

"Did Beej give that to you?" 

"Yeah" nodded Lydia, she studied Adam and Barbara's masks "They the ones he made for you?"

"Yeah" nodded Barbara "It was actually pretty nice of him"

"It was" said Lydia, she looked at Barbara's closely "Is that the same material of your dress you... y'know..."

"Yeah" said Barbara "I actually like it"

"Oh hey, that was a year ago today wasn't it" said Lydia. The Maitlands nodded "Oh how things have changed since then"

"I know right" said Adam, putting a hand around Barbara's waist.

"You're a very special girl you know Katie" said Lydia, bouncing the baby on her hip "A very special girl"

"She is" said Adam

"Want to come back home now?" asked Lydia "By the time we get back, Dad will have finished his work calls, and who knows about Delia"

"Ok sure" said Barbara. They set off and Lydia laughed slightly. "Whats up?"

"It's amazing to think of just how much things have changed in a year" she said, adjusting Katherine "Like... its crazy"

"I know" said Barbara "Its kinda weird thinking about it" 

"A year ago, we were 2 ghosts who somehow got brought back to life, now look at where we are" said Adam 

"You have an incredible daughter" said Lydia, poking the girl in her sides "and another child on the way" she looked at the Maitlands "So, you two decided on the name?"

"Andrew if its a boy" said Barbara "and Lily if its a girl" 

"I think its another girl" said Lydia 

"Same" said Adam 

"Nope" said Barbara "I bet boy" they walked through the front doors of their old house and were greeted by Charles and Delia. 

"Dad, Delia, what have you bet the baby is?" asked Lydia 

"Boy" said Charles 

"Thank you" said Barbara, smiling at Charles 

"No" said Delia "I think its a girl" 

"So does Beej" said Lydia, she looked at Katherine "Do you want a little sister or a little brother?"

"Sister" said Katherine 

"She's on our side" said Adam, he kissed his daughter "You got the right idea honey" 

"Well, I was about to make some pancakes for afternoon tea because I know they're a favourite" 

"Can I help?" asked Barbara

"No, its fine" said Delia 

"I'm helping" said Barbara, she grabbed the older woman's arm and dragged her to the kitchen. 

That night, after Katherine was asleep, Barbara crawled into bed next to Adam and put his book to the side. He smiled at her from behind his glasses. Barbara snuggled into his side and looked up at him. Adam wrapped his arm around her and rested his hand on her stomach, going back to reading. They stayed like that for a long time until Barbara yawned and snuggled further into his comforting body. Adam gently put his book and glasses to the side and turned the light off. Then he laid down and Barbara rested her head on his shoulder. Adam smiled and kissed her forehead.

"Good night honey" he whispered into her hair "I love you"

"I love you too" came Barbara's sleepy reply and soon after that, both Maitlands were fast asleep.


	32. Quality time

"Lydia, you have to stay with Adam and Barb for a few days" said Charles, walking into his daughters bedroom without knocking. 

"Dad" groaned Lydia, lifting her head off the pillow "Knock"

"Sorry" said Charles, he sat down on the bed next to her and stroked her hair "But you have to go over their now"

"Why?" asked Lydia sitting up "Whats going on?"

"Delia's mothers taken a fall and we're going down to their place for a few days to help" said Charles

"Oh shit" said Lydia "Do Adam and Barb know?"

"Of course" said Charles "But you've got to promise to be good and listen to them"

"I always do" said Lydia 

"Yes, but actually listen to them and if you can keep Katie off their hands for a while that'd be amazing"

"Will do" said Lydia "Whats happening with Oreo?"

"She's staying here" said Charles "But I expect you to come over everyday and feed her"

"Of course" said Lydia "But why not just take her over?"

"Because its a bit too much to ask" said Charles, he stood up "You've got clothes at their house right?"

"Yeah" said Lydia, also standing up "Want me to go over now?"

"We'll drop you off" said Charles. He and Lydia walked downstairs where Delia was on the phone with someone. Then, they left the house and dropped Lydia off at the Maitlands house. Lydia was greeted by Adam and Katherine. They told her that Barbara was on a work zoom call and would be another half an hour. Lydia nodded and was led into the backyard by Katherine, the one year old insisting that Lydia play dolls with her. 

"I'll be in the garage you two" said Adam "Come get me if you need anything"

"Ok, bye!" shouted Lydia, she turned back to Katherine and the two cats that'd joined them. "So what are we playing Katie?"

"Princess tea party!"

Barbara came downstairs 45 minutes later and walked out the back door to find Lydia wearing a pink fluffy tiara. She burst out laughing and walked over to the 2 girls. As she approached, she noticed Lydia holding Xavier on his hind legs as he was wearing a fairy princess dress.

"You girls torturing that cat?" asked Barbara

"He doesn't mind" said Lydia, she made his paws wave at Barbara "See?"

"Hmm..." Barbara frowned "Ok, listen. I'm going to go make afternoon tea, you girls want anything?"

"Barb, let me do that" said Lydia, putting the cat down so he was on all fours. He wriggled out of the dress and ran off to go wash himself "You relax"

"You sound like Adam" sighed Barbara

"Its because we want you to be relaxed and not be stressed" said Lydia. Barbara sighed "Really Barb. You're pregnant and could be having the baby any day now, you have got to stop trying to do so much, just relax please and save your energy"

"But-" Barbara protested but stopped and sighed. "Ok, I'll stop"

"Thank you" said Lydia. She stood up and put her crown on Katherine's head. "I'll make afternoon tea, maybe drag Adam into it" 

"Drag me into what?" asked Adam, emerging from the garage wiping his forehead. Katherine squealed and made a beeline for her father. Adam smiled and picked her up. "Hey sweetie"

"Drag you into making afternoon tea" said Lydia

"You got Barb to listen?" asked Adam "woah, good job" Lydia laughed and Barbara sighed. "I'm kidding honey" Barbara raised an eyebrow. Adam laughed again.

"This is nice" said Lydia. "We haven't done this in ages"

"Its been too long" said Adam. Barbara hummed in agreement. The three of them were cuddled up on the couch watching movies. Lydia had squished herself in the far corner of the couch and slowly through-out the night, Adam had migrated closer to her until she gave in and curled herself up into his side. Barbara had her head in Adam's lap and her legs stretched out over the rest of the couch. 

"What shall we watch next?" asked Lydia "Avengers?"

"Why not" shrugged Adam, running his fingers through Barbara's hair, getting all the knots out. Barbara was asleep with in the next 5 minutes, leaving Adam and Lydia to watch the movie. Halfway through the movie, Lydia lifted her head off Adam and looked at him.

"We should do this more" she said

"We should" agreed Adam "Sorry we haven't had as much time for you, Katie demands attention a lot"

"Oh its alright" said Lydia "I'm not your kid, you don't have to make time for me"

"But we do" said Adam "We see you as our daughter Lydia. To us, you are as much our daughter as Kate is. We cherish every moment we have with you, and its moments like this, when its just the 3 of us that are really really special" he took a deep breath and shifted slightly, careful to not disturb his sleeping wife "We love you Lydia, we really do. You mean so much to us and have shown and given us so much in life and death. So thank you"

"Wow Adam" said Lydia, swallowing away the lump that had risen in her throat "I love you guys too" she started getting choked up and just hugged him tightly. Adam extracted his arm from under his wife and hugged Lydia back. Then, the two of them spent the rest of the night in each others embrace, watching movies and enjoying some quality time together. 


	33. Epilogue: 4 years later

4 years had past and Adam and Barbara's life only grew to be more amazing. Their second child, and only son, was born 2 days later and was named Andrew John Maitland, after each of their fathers. Then 2 years later, in December (3 days after Christmas) Rose Lydia Maitland was born. 

Lydia was honoured when she was asked if they could use her name for Rose's middle name and grew especially close to the young girl. She was also given the title of Rose's godmother and swore to protect the young girl at all costs.   
Beetlejuice was surprisingly a massive help when it came to small children, although maybe thats because he was like one himself.  
Charles and Delia would offer to babysit every weekend so Adam and Barbara could have a day and/or night to themselves. 

"Katie! Come here please" called Barbara. Katherine walked into the kitchen and saw her mother bouncing Rose on her hip while she stirred the pasta sauce "Hey Katie"

"Hi mummy" she said 

"Can you please go get daddy and Andy and tell them dinner's ready?" 

"Ok mummy" Katherine ran out the kitchen and into the backyard, where her father and brother were doing something. "Daddy, Andy, mummy says dinners ready"

"Ok, coming" Adam scooped Andy up and then picked Katherine up. The two children squealed as their father carried them inside and to the dining table, where Barbara was putting Rose in her highchair.

"Hey" said Barbara "Serve yourselves, I'm just going to go get the cheese"

"I'll go honey" said Adam, setting his children on the ground and watching as they scrambled onto their seats. 

"No I can do it" said Barbara

"Not if I get their first" the two adults ran to the kitchen and emerged a minute later both giggling.

"Can we eat now?" asked Katherine, stopping her fork fight with her brother

"Sorry" said Barbara, setting the cheese down "Yeah, can you hand me your bowl please?" Katherine slid the bowel across the table and Barbara put spaghetti in it and added sauce on top. "How much cheese you want?"

"Lots!" said Katherine 

"Ok" laughed Barbara. She glanced over at Adam, who was serving up Andy's dinner. She caught his eye and smiled. Adam smiled back. This was the life they'd always wanted. Yes, it was later than expected and they weren't as young as they'd planned but it was everything they needed in life. Adam blew her a kiss and Barbara mouthed "I love you" at him. He smiled and mouthed "I love you too" back. 


End file.
